A man who family members say is mentally ill told a judge Monday morning that he is innocent in a triple homicide last week that left a Yell County sheriff's lieutenant, a woman and a teenager dead.
Authorities have not released a suspected motive in the killings, only saying that James Arthur Bowden, 42, was involved in a domestic dispute at about 6:48 a.m. Thursday at 12084 Gum Springs Road, west of Dardanelle.
Bowden's sister, Julie Inmon, told The Associated Press last week that her brother is mentally ill.
A deputy at the scene Thursday morning issued an alert to be on the lookout for Bowden's vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit in the court file, which was unsealed Monday.
Yell County sheriff's Lt. Kevin Mainhart, 46, was shot when he stopped Bowden near Slo Fork Road, just off Arkansas 27, a half-hour after the alert. At 10 a.m., the Yell County coroner pronounced Mainhart dead.
According to the affidavit, a witness called 911 after seeing Mainhart fall backward after being shot. When deputies arrived, they discovered that Mainhart's Glock pistol, with a West Memphis logo on it, was missing.
Mainhart had retired from the West Memphis Police Department before being hired in Yell County.
At 7:43 a.m., a neighbor of the Gum Springs Road home called 911 and said Bowden was back at his residence and that "he may have shot some people."
The bodies of Rita Miller, 61, and Ciera Miller, 17, were found in the residence's front yard, and Bowden was inside the home with a hostage -- Haley McHam, 31, of Yell County. Family members have said the Millers were relatives of McHam, Bowden's girlfriend, according to The Associated Press.
Yell County Chief Deputy Junior Foster said he spoke to Bowden from outside the home and that Bowden said he "had killed three people," court papers say.
The standoff lasted for about seven hours before Bowden released McHam and surrendered to authorities without incident.
Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey of Morrilton issued a gag order Monday that bars prosecutors, defense attorneys and police from speaking publicly about the case. The defense said the publicity the case would garner would not allow the defendant to get a fair trial.
The case against Bowden, who is being held in the Conway County jail, is set for pretrial at 9 a.m. July 13 at the Yell County Courthouse in Dardanelle. The jury trial is set for July 27.
State Desk on 05/16/2017
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