Man arrested following rape allegation

Hot Springs suspect also faces felony residential burglary and assault charges

HOT SPRINGS — A man was arrested Sunday after police said he forced his way into another man’s home where he assaulted and raped him and was still there when Hot Springs officers arrived after being flagged down by the accuser.

D a ’C h i n o S h aq u a n Cheatham, 28, of Hot Springs was arrested shortly before 3:30 p.m. on felony charges of rape, residential burglary, aggravated assault and possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor counts of third-degree battery and first-degree criminal mischief.

Cheatham appeared Monday in Garland County District Court, where he pleaded innocent to all the charges and is set for a felony review hearing on April 7 with his bond set at $100,000.

According to a probable cause affidavit, shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a report of a possible disturbance called in by a third party who stated someone came to a friend’s house and attacked him and was still there.

Officer Stephan Parrott arrived at the scene and was flagged down by a man, 22, who said a homeless man he knew only as “Dachino” had attacked him and then entered his residence and was still inside, police said. The man said that Dachino had raped him, police said, and officers noted he had a laceration on the side of his neck and injuries to his mouth.

Officers went to the man’s residence and opened the front door with the man’s permission. Inside, they reported locating a second man, later identified as Cheatham, sitting on a sofa. He stood up and officers noted his privates were exposed.

Police said they searched Cheatham and found a prescription bottle in someone else’s name that contained four hydrocodone pills.

The accuser told them he was at his residence when he received a text from Cheatham asking if he had any food, police said. The man was waiting for a friend to pick him up for work, and when he heard a knock at his door a few minutes later he thought it was his friend, police said.

The man opened the door partially and saw Cheatham standing there, and Cheatham again asked if he “had any food for him,” police said. The man told him he didn’t have any, which made Cheatham mad, so the man attempted to close the door, police said.

Cheatham held the door open as they began arguing and then he forced his way into the residence, police said. He then grabbed the alleged victim by the neck, restricting his airway, police said.

The man said a scuffle ensued and they began “rolling on the floor” of the residence, police said. At one point, the accuser was able to grab his cellphone, which sustained an impact that automatically sent a 911 alert to his emergency contacts, including the friend he was waiting for, police said.

D u r i n g t h e s t r u g g l e, Cheatham allegedly raped the man, who noted Cheatham was “stronger than him” and he was “scared what he would do to him,” police said.

The accuser was able to flee the residence at one point and flag down police, who had been alerted by his friend, police said.

Cheatham admitted to going to the man’s apartment and asking him for food, police said. When the man told him he didn’t have any, Cheatham said he became angry because he knew that was not true, police said.

A scuffle then ensued, police said Cheatham told them. When asked if anything else happened, Cheatham indicated he and the man had consensual sex and denied raping him, police said. When asked who had started the fight, he said he “did not remember,” police said.


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