Yates held without bond in homicide

Rogers man arrested in Fulton County Thursday

BENTONVILLE — A Rogers man is being held in the Benton County Jail without bond on a capital murder charge in the death of his roommate.

Don Paul Yates, 53, was arrested at his brother’s house in Salem in Fulton County on Thursday and was brought back to Benton County over the weekend.

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green said Monday she agreed with Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Sexton’s request Yates be held without bond.

Yates also was arrested in connection with aggravated robbery and theft of property, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Yates also was wanted in connection with failure to appear in a Colorado case, the affidavit states. He was arrested Sept. 6 in connection with four counts of felony possession of a weapon in Parachute, Colo., and skipped a court date set for Sept. 26, court records state.

Yates, clothed in black and white striped jail clothes, sat on the back bench of an area designated for jail detainees before the bond hearing. He thumbed through legal paperwork, took a few glances around the courtroom, but mostly looked straight ahead.

Patrick Quinley, 58, was discovered by police on Sept. 25 after they were asked to do a welfare check at 53 W. Alton Circle. Quinley had not been to work since Sept. 21, the affidavit states. Officers found the body around 1 p.m.

Yates’ address also was listed as 53 W. Alton Circle in Benton County Jail booking information.

Police found Quinley

dead on the living room floor, the affidavit states. Dr. Adam Craig with the Arkansas Crime Lab determined the cause of death was a blunt force trauma to the head. Full autopsy results are not available yet, the affidavit states.

Police could not find Quinley’s credit cards and cellular phone. His Ford F-150 pickup also was missing.

Earlier in September, Quinley filed a report with Rogers police that stated Yates took his pickup. He got the pickup and an iPhoneX from Yates after he was arrested in Colorado, the affidavit states. Quinley had recently been in a relationship with Don Paul Yates, according to the affidavit.

Ralph Yates told police his brother arrived at his home on Sept. 21. He was driving a Budget rental truck.

The brothers drove to pick up the F-150, Ralph Yates told police. He said the area where they went was approximately an hour and half from Mountain Home. Later, he said it was somewhere in Mountain Home, and they dropped the Budget rental off in Jonesboro, the affidavit states.

Ralph Yates told police Don Yates kept asking to check the news in a town that started with an “R,” and, at one point, said, “They found the body,” according to the affidavit. Ralph Yates said he didn’t know what Don Yates was referring to, and he didn’t ask, the affidavit states.

The F-150 was found behind Ralph Yates’ home in Salem. Police found Quinley’s iPhoneX in a backpack and his wallet in a storage tub inside the home, the affidavit states.

A loaded .38 revolver was found under a pillow in Don Yates’ bedroom. A white T-shirt with suspected blood stains was found in a trash can, the affidavit states.

A neighbor in Rogers told police he observed a skinny white man in his 30s with short brown hair at Quinley’s residence on Sept. 23. The neighbor stated he saw the man with a Budget rental box truck. The neighbor said he later saw the man leave the home and sound the alarm on the F-150 with a keyless remote. The neighbor stated the man appeared to try and hide when he was spotted, and he later went into the home.

The neighbor later noticed the Budget truck and the F-150 were gone. Another neighbor reported seeing Quinley’s roommate, later identified at Don Yates, at the home the previous week, the affidavit states.

Police spoke with Ralph Yates again, who said he and his brother drove four hours to get the pickup.

He said it was near Rogers, but he did not know if it was in Rogers or not, the affidavit states.

Yates