HOT SPRINGS -- Two men were shot late Tuesday night after they and two others forced their way into a Texas couple's motel room, according to Hot Springs police.
Brandon Folsom, 30, of Hot Springs was in critical condition Wednesday at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, police said in a news release. The second person shot, Bobby Jack Smith, 29, of Hot Springs Village was in good condition at the hospital, police reported.
A third suspect in the case, Jakota Rustin Clay, 29, of Hot Springs, was arrested about 11:30 p.m. after a foot pursuit by Hot Springs police officers, reports said. The fourth suspect, Autumn Dean Polston, 26, also of Hot Springs was arrested shortly after midnight at the St. Vincent hospital where she had gone with Folsom, officers reported.
Clay and Polston were each charged with a felony count of aggravated residential burglary, punishable by up to life in prison, and with a misdemeanor count of third-degree battery, punishable by up to one year in jail. They were being held without bail and are scheduled to appear May 23 in Garland County District Court.
The news release said Folsom and Smith will be arrested on the same charges when they are released from the hospital.
According to an affidavit, the four suspects forced their way into a room at the Econo Lodge at 1204 Central Ave. The room was occupied by a 59-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife, both of Newark, Texas.
The Texas man had answered the door armed with a handgun and fired one shot that struck Folsom in the torso, according to the affidavit. The bullet exited Folsom's body and struck Smith in his upper chest and shoulder, the affidavit said.
Police officer Richard Nunez was in the area shortly before 11:30 p.m. looking for a wanted person, identified as Clay, when he saw a group of people randomly banging on doors and windows of the motel rooms, the affidavit said. Nunez saw the group enter one room after the occupant opened the door, then he heard a single gunshot and saw people "run out of the room," according to reports.
Nunez, Cpl. Brandon Jones and his police dog Keena apprehended Clay a few blocks away after a short foot pursuit. Smith was found near the 400 block of West Grand Avenue and transported by ambulance to the hospital.
A few minutes later, Nunez learned that Folsom and Polston had gone to the hospital in a private vehicle, according to reports.
Police spoke to the Texas man, who said he and his wife heard banging on their room door. Not knowing who it could be, the man answered the door while holding his .22-caliber derringer-style handgun, according to reports.
He said Folsom hit him in the face as he opened the door, causing him to fall backward, reports said. He told police that he fired one shot that struck Folsom, and all three men fled from the room, leaving Polston standing there alone, reports said. The man said Polston was pulled from the room moments later by another woman.
In an interview with detective Jarrett Cantrell, Polston said she was robbed a few days before by someone she believed was staying in the room that the Texas couple occupied. She said she, Clay, Folsom and Smith left her room at the motel and walked over to the Texans' room to confront the person who robbed her, according to reports.
She told police that one of the men knocked on the door, and when the man opened it, one of the men hit him. She said she then heard a gunshot and fled. She said she recalled looking back and seeing a man pointing a gun at her and then saw Folsom with what appeared to be a gunshot wound in his abdomen, according to reports.
Clay was interviewed and denied any knowledge of the incident, according to reports.
State Desk on 05/11/2017