HOT SPRINGS -- Two Hot Springs men charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 8 shooting death of a teenager pleaded innocent in Garland County Circuit Court.
Anthony James Camden, 24, appeared Monday before Judge John Homer Wright and Stephon Tyrone Harris, 20, appeared Tuesday before Judge Marcia Hearnsberger to enter their pleas. Camden is scheduled for a disposition hearing April 3 and Harris is set for a hearing April 11 on the admissibility of statements he made to authorities.
Both men remain in custody in lieu of $500,000 bond and each could face up to life in prison if convicted in the death of Colby Wilder, 17, whose body was found Sept. 9 in a ditch alongside a driveway in the 4000 block of Spring Street.
Camden and Harris also are charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 8 shooting death of Tyler Donaldson, 23, on Lacey Street. The area where Wilder's body was found was near Donaldson's residence, and authorities believe Wilder was shot the morning of Sept. 8, followed by the shootings involving Donaldson and four other people that evening.
According to the affidavit on the charges involving Wilder, the teen's body was found the afternoon of Sept. 9 and was not immediately identified. Garland County sheriff's investigators recovered five .40-caliber shell casings at the scene and noted that it appeared the victim had been shot more than once.
A witness later told investigators that Camden, Harris and Wilder arrived at his residence on Arnett Circle in Camden's car between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Sept. 8. He said Camden and Harris made comments that Wilder "needed his a** kicked," but did not elaborate further.
A second witness, who lived at Donaldson's residence, stated he heard several gunshots at the end of the driveway early on the morning of Sept. 8 and then heard a vehicle leaving. He said the exhaust sounded like Camden's car, noting that Camden had been to his residence several times in the past.
Investigators later interviewed Camden, who initially claimed he dropped Wilder off in the area of Westinghouse and Ridgeway a couple of nights earlier and had not seen him since. He later reportedly identified Harris as the one who shot Wilder and admitted he was there when the shooting occurred, drove Harris away from the scene and never reported the shooting to authorities.
The shell casings recovered from the Spring Street shooting were compared at the state Crime Laboratory with shell casings recovered from the shooting on Lacey Street. On Nov. 18, the lab confirmed the casings from both scenes came from the same firearm.
According to the affidavits for the earlier arrests, a resident at 311 Lacey St. told Hot Springs police that Harris, Camden and Donaldson arrived at her home looking for a 17-year-old boy. She said the 17-year-old had argued with Camden earlier regarding a debt the boy's older brother, Cameron Guyton, 20, owed Camden.
The witness said Camden wanted to fight the teen and stood in the driveway holding a handgun and yelling. At one point, Donaldson started to fight the teen and Guyton, the affidavits said. Camden allegedly raised his gun and tried to fire it, but it jammed. As Camden tried to fix his gun, Harris allegedly pulled out a handgun and started shooting, the affidavits said.
Donaldson, Guyton, George Watson, 53, Skie Guyton, 19, and the 17-year-old were all wounded by the gunfire. Donaldson was airlifted to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, where he later died.
State Desk on 02/11/2017