Slayings in Sebastian, Faulkner counties, PB leave 4 dead

Authorities in three counties were investigating homicides Monday.

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Police arrested a Fort Smith man in the deaths of two Sebastian County brothers found in a house in the Washburn community Monday morning, authorities said.

Stanley Ambrose Mazurek, 34, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, residential burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm, said Capt. Philip Pevehouse of the Sebastian County sheriff's office.

Police received a call at 8 a.m. that a family member had found the two brothers dead in a house in the 9500 block of Arkansas 10 in Washburn, about 15 miles southeast of Fort Smith.

Pevehouse said Mazurek became a suspect as detectives worked the homicides.

A neighbor also reported a vehicle taken from his residence. An Arkansas State Police trooper in Fort Smith spotted the vehicle and stopped it, and Mazurek was arrested, Pevehouse said.

Pevehouse did not release the victims' identities, saying all family members had not been notified as of Monday evening.

Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals said a suspect was being questioned Monday afternoon in a shooting that left one person dead and another injured.

The sheriff's office received a call around 2:30 p.m. reporting shots fired at 55 New Home Road in Guy, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.

Deputies responded and found Janette Bivens, 71, dead in the yard and a second victim, 73-year-old Don Bivens, shot in the arm inside the residence, according to the post. Don Bivens was taken to Conway Regional Medical Center for treatment, according to the post.

The couple's son, 47-year-old Douglas Bivens, surrendered at the scene and was taken in for questioning, Ryals said. The sheriff said Douglas Bivens had not been formally charged as of 8:20 p.m., but authorities did expect to charge him in the shooting.

Authorities were trying to figure out a motive for the shooting Monday evening, Ryals said.

Pine Bluff police were investigating the city's first homicide of the year Monday afternoon after a man was found shot on a sidewalk, authorities said.

Police responded about 2:45 p.m. to 3103 Almetta Drive, where they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a department spokesman.

The victim was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. Investigators had not released the victim's name Monday evening because they were still trying to notify family members of the death.

The residence where the shooting occurred did not belong to the victim, but the homeowner told police he knew the man and the shooter.

The witness told police the shooter was a white woman in her 30s with multiple tattoos. The witness said her first name was Melissa but that he didn't know her last name, police said.

The suspect was thought to be driving a small red SUV.

Information for this article was contributed by staff writers Kenneth Heard, Eric Besson, Hunter Field and Ryan Taranelli of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

State Desk on 01/03/2017

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