Bail is set at $1M in fatal shooting

EL DORADO — Bail of $1 million has been set for a man accused in a fatal shooting last week at an El Dorado sports bar and grill.

Eric Morrison, 28, of Hot Springs appeared Monday before District Judge Jack Barker after being arrested Oct. 26 in the death of 30-year-old Corey Goodwin of Smackover.

Morrison is charged with first-degree murder. He was initially charged with first-degree battery, but the charge was upgraded after Goodwin died.

First-degree murder is a Class Y felony. If convicted, Morrison could be sentenced to 10-40 years or life in prison.

El Dorado police responded at 9:23 p.m. Oct. 26 to a report of shots being fired at Hotshots Sports Bar and Grill, at 601 S. Timberlane Drive, where they found Goodwin lying in the parking lot just south of the business “with blood on his body.”

Goodwin was transported by ambulance to Medical Center of South Arkansas and was later transferred to the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, where he died.

Police are awaiting results of a preliminary autopsy report from the state Crime Laboratory to confirm the cause of death.

Goodwin and Morrison were involved in a dispute that moved outside the bar and grill, police said. Witnesses reported hearing several gunshots shortly after the men left the building.

Capt. Kevin Holt, public information officer for the El Dorado Police Department, said investigators were working to determine the cause of the dispute.