A Pope County man was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in the June slaying of another man after bragging to a police informant about the killing, according to an affidavit.
Johnson County Circuit Court records show that Christopher Gerald Weston, 37, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder: one count accusing him of purposely causing the death of 34-year-old Ricky Partin, and another count accusing him of causing Partin's death during the commission of a theft.
Prison records show that Weston was being held at the North Central Unit at Calico Rock, where he began serving a 10-year sentence Oct. 7. Records show he has a release date of July 17, 2019.
The records show Weston was sentenced on 2015 and 2016 charges out of Johnson and Pope counties of possession of methamphetamine or cocaine with intent to deliver, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of drug paraphernalia, theft, being a felon in possession of a firearm, fleeing and being a habitual offender.
A probable cause affidavit by Arkansas State Police investigator Mark Brice said Partin was killed June 10 and his severely decomposed body was found June 22 on private property near Johnson County Road 1723 off Arkansas 359 at the southeastern tip of the county near Big Piney Creek. Officers found seven 9mm shell casings near the body.
Two days before Partin's body was found, on June 20, the affidavit said, Weston, driving a white Buick, got into a car chase with a Pope County sheriff's deputy. He was arrested after a short foot pursuit near Flat Rock in Johnson County.
The Buick was impounded and later searched. The affidavit said property belonging to Partin was found inside, including three of his checkbooks, his Social Security card, his driver's license and vehicle registration. Also found was a Best Western rewards card belonging to Weston.
Investigators obtained Partin's bank records. A video from a bank in Little Rock appeared to show Weston attempting to cash checks from Partin's bank account June 11, the day after Partin disappeared.
According to the affidavit, Partin was last seen during the early morning hours of June 10 leaving a Pope County man's home and driving his white Chevrolet truck with his dog and Weston. At the time, the affidavit said, Weston was wearing an armored vest and carrying what appeared to be a 9mm handgun.
An informant told Brice that Weston admitted to him June 12 that he killed Partin, boasting that he shot Partin so many times in the face that no one would be able to identify him. Weston also gave the informant the location on County Road 1723 where he left Partin's body.
The informant gave the information to London Police Chief JoAnn Demmitt in Pope County on June 22, two days after Weston was arrested, and Demmitt passed the information on to the Johnson County sheriff's office.
The affidavit said Brice learned from a woman that Weston had painted Partin's white truck black and then abandoned it in a bean field in Yell County.
The woman told Brice that she had followed Weston in her white Buick to Yell County where he abandoned the truck and she picked him up. Weston then took possession of the Buick, the affidavit said.
On June 23, the day after Partin's body was found, investigators found Partin's truck. They found a fingerprint left by Weston in the paint in the bed of the truck, the affidavit said.
State Desk on 01/07/2017