BENTONVILLE -- A Rogers man accused of killing his former girlfriend's boyfriend served 19 years in prison for killing a man in 1995 in Louisiana.
Anthony Wayne Ballett, 39, was arrested the day after Christmas in connection with killing Keundra Allen.
Allen, 25, of Little Rock was stabbed to death outside his girlfriend's apartment. Ballett is accused of stabbing Allen 13 times, according to court documents.
Ballett is on parole for a plea to manslaughter in Madison Parish, La., according to Ken Pastorick, a spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Concern.
He was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 1996, and required to serve half the sentence, according to Pastorick. Ballett was released from prison in May 2013 to the state's probation and parole office in Monroe, La. His probation was transferred in April 2017 to Arkansas, Pastorick said.
Ballett posted Nov. 5 on his Facebook page he went to prison at age 15 and had nothing, but Allah took care of him. He said in the post he got out of prison at age 33 and had nothing, but Allah took care of him. "Now I am divorce have no job have no money and do not have a reliable car but guess what Allah is still taking care of me," he said in the post.
Ballett was arrested in Oct. 17, 1995, in Tallulah, La., according to a court document from Madison Parish. He was arrested in connection with murder for shooting and killing another person. Ballett admitted shooting him after an argument between the pair, according to the document.
"A defendant's criminal history always factors into how to prosecute a case and that will be the case here as well," said Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecutor. "Our focus is on properly evaluating the evidence and seeking justice for the victim."
Ballett is being held without bond in the Benton County Jail. He was arrested in connection with capital murder and violation of a no-contact order. His arraignment is set for Jan. 27.
Police found Allen in a grassy area near 502 S.E. B St. about a block from the Bentonville Public Library. Allen had four stab wounds in his head, six to his torso and three to his back, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police spoke with Ieshia Webster, Ballett's ex-girlfriend, and to Alyssa Fitzgerald, a friend who was staying with her. Webster said she lived in an apartment at 502 S.E. B St. Webster told police she and Ballett stopped dating about six months ago, but he was still in love with her. Webster said she and Allen were "companions" and Ballett didn't like the relationship, according to the affidavit.
Webster said she and Allen heard Ballett's car outside the apartment and Allen went outside. A few seconds later there was a knock at the apartment door. Webster said she saw the men fighting and Allen was pulled in the apartment and the door was shut. They heard Ballett drive away, according to the affidavit.
Webster and Allen later heard a noise in the backyard. Allen went outside. Webster stayed inside until she heard a scream. She saw Ballett on top of Allen. She went outside and saw Ballett had a knife and was stabbing Allen. She yelled at Ballett and he walked west toward the city library about a block away, according to the affidavit.
Ballett was previously arrested at 3:11 a.m. Oct 1 near Webster's apartment.
Ballett told police he went to Webster's bedroom window and heard her giggling and a male voice coming from the speaker on her cellphone, according to the probable cause affidavit. Ballett said Webster refused to open the door and threatened to call the police. He became angry and picked up a child's bicycle and used it to smash the back door's window and back bedroom window.
Ballett told police he and Webster talked on the phone early Oct. 3 and they argued over her taking $140 out of his bank account. She refused to give the money back and told him the money was to pay for the windows he broke two days earlier, according to the affidavit.
He told police he and Webster weren't legally married, but said his relationship with Webster was a marriage through Islam, according to the affidavit.
Ballett was charged with two counts of criminal mischief and criminal trespass. Ballett was ordered not to have any contact with Webster and he was released from custody on $25,000 bond.
NW News on 01/04/2020