BENTONVILLE -- A judge Monday found Justin Trammell fit to stand trial in connection with attempted murder and other felony charges. Trammell, 34, was convicted as a teen of killing his father with a crossbow.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren made the ruling in response to the findings of a mental evaluation on Trammell.
Trammell, of Rogers, is charged with attempted murder, domestic battery, two counts of battery, endangering the welfare of a minor and driving while intoxicated. He is also charged as a habitual offender. Trammell pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday at his video arraignment.
Trammell is being held on $250,000 bond in the Benton County Jail. He was arrested July 9.
Police said he wrecked a pickup with two girls riding in the bed. The attempted murder charge involves the crash and Trammell acted in a way that he knew could have caused the death of the two girls, according to court documents.
When Darren Robertson, a Benton County Sheriff's Office deputy, arrived at the wreck in the Garfield area, Trammell tried to take the deputy's gun, according to court documents. The deputy used his stun gun on Trammell several times, according to court documents. The deputy got Trammell in handcuffs with the help of other emergency responders, according to court documents.
Trammell was committed in August to the state's mental health system.
Tiffany DeVore, a jail deputy, said at a hearing in August that Trammell tried to commit suicide multiple times. DeVore said Trammell cut his wrists and repeatedly hit his head on the sink and floor. Trammell also tried to fall from his bunk head first to the floor, according to DeVore.
He was treated at the hospital and returned to the jail, and DeVore testified she later saw Trammell removing the stitches from his wrist and striking his head on a desk.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26.
Trammell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June 2000 in Benton County Circuit Court for the Sept. 26, 1999, killing of his father, Mike Trammell Sr., 37, with a crossbow. Trammell was 15 years old when the incident occurred, and he served time in a juvenile facility before being placed on probation.
NW News on 01/15/2019