Three charged with murder in Sebastian County court

James Michael Eugene Shoemake
James Michael Eugene Shoemake

FORT SMITH -- Two separate shootings Feb. 14 led to three people being charged Monday with murder in Sebastian County Circuit Court, according to Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue.

James Michael Shoemake, 22, of Mulberry was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of Jeremiah Allen, 22. Shoemake will be arraigned on the charges at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

First responders found Allen on the ground in the 1500 block of Boston Avenue. He had been shot once in the back, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Allen's ex-girlfriend told police she had been in an apartment with Shoemake when he went outside. He ran back inside about 15 minutes later, claiming he had just shot someone, according to the affidavit. She noticed he had a gun in his pocket, which he hid inside a wall of the apartment, the affidavit states.

The woman went outside and discovered Allen, according to the affidavit.

Police searched Shoemake's apartment Feb. 15 and found the gun hidden inside the wall, according to the affidavit.

In the second shooting Feb. 14, Jeffery Allen Workman, 46, and Jennifer Renee Martin, 39, were charged with first-degree murder and aggravated residential burglary.

Officers were called to a shooting on Plum Street in Hackett. They identified one victim who had died and one who had suffered head trauma, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Investigators searched a home on Texas Road in Fort Smith, according to the affidavit. They found a baseball bat used in the Hackett attack and a 9mm handgun matching shell casings left at the scene, according to the affidavit.

Investigators obtained a statement from someone at the residence implicating Workman as the person who brought the bat and the gun to the Hackett home, according to the affidavit.

Workman and Martin will be arraigned on the charges at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Jeffery Allen Workman
Jeffery Allen Workman
Jennifer Martin
Jennifer Martin

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