FAYETTEVILLE -- Nikolas Mack Colbert, 43, of 313 W. Thurman St. in Prairie Grove pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder and first-degree battery of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty in Washington County Circuit Court.
Colbert shot Tyler Franks on May 4, 2021. Franks, who was shot three times while responding to a disturbance, had part of his left leg amputated. He has since returned to work, according to Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett.
Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor sentenced Colbert to 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction on each charge and ordered the sentences to run consecutively, for a total of 60 years.
Franks was shot after he and officer Andrew Gibson and two Farmington police officers responded to a 911 call from a residence on West Thurman Street. Franks, 29, was shot in the upper portion of both legs. He suffered irreparable damage to his vascular system, according to a news release from Prairie Grove police.
Franks and Gibson arrived at the home and spoke with Colbert's wife, who told them Colbert was in the bedroom and refused to come out. She let the officers inside, and Franks attempted to get Colbert to come out of the bedroom, according to police.
Franks had armed himself with a JPX pepper gun as a nonlethal means to end the situation, according to Durrett.
When Colbert refused to come out, Franks entered the bedroom. Colbert immediately fired three shots at Franks from a sawed-off shotgun and a .45 caliber handgun, according to police.
Gibson drew his service weapon and fired five times, hitting Colbert four times. Gibson then was able to get Franks out of the house.
Franks was in the intensive care unit at Washington Regional for about eight days, then moved to a rehabilitation facility in Fayetteville. He returned home about a month after the shooting.