Man pleads not guilty in assault case

Garret Wise, 18, of El Dorado appeared in the fourth division of the Circuit Court of Union County Tuesday, where he entered a plea of not guilty to various charges related to a personal dispute that occurred in April.

Wise is facing charges of second-degree discharge of a firearm from a car, aggravated assault, first-degree terroristic threatening and criminal trespassing.

According to court documents, Wise allegedly shot a gun at his girlfriend’s house after she refused to let him inside on April 3. She said she tried to break up with Wise, who told her he would come to the residence.

A man at the residence said Wise threatened to shoot through a window as he beat on doors and windows in the front and back of the house. The man said when Wise finally left, he went outside to see which direction Wise was headed; at that time, he heard a gunshot, as well as a round so close to him he could hear it whiz by.

Other witnesses also reported hearing the gunshot. Wise told officers he fired the gun, but said he aimed at the ground. A man that was with Wise told an officer with the Union County Sheriff’s Office that Wise shot “towards the house,” according to court documents.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Wise waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the charges he is facing.

Kenneth Scales, 31, of El Dorado, facing charges of arson and public intoxication, also appeared Tuesday. Scales’ attorney filed motions for examinations that will determine Scales’ fitness to proceed in the court hearings as well as his criminal responsibility in the alleged crimes.

According to court documents, Scales is suspected in lighting a fire to a residence on West First street in late August. On August 25, officers were alerted to a fire on West First; when the first officer arrived, she discovered the front of the house engulfed in flames and a man in pajamas walking away from the area.

Two other officers located Scales, who was the man the first officer saw walking away from the area. According to court documents, Scales told the officers he set his girlfriend’s house on fire.

His girlfriend said Scales came home drunk, so she asked him to leave; she said she left the residence instead when he would not. She said when she returned about 15 minutes later, her house was on fire.

The motions filed by Scales’ attorney Tuesday were so ordered by Judge Robin Carroll. Scales will be examined by the Arkansas Department of Human Services which will determine whether he is criminally responsible for his alleged actions and whether he is fit to proceed to trial.