Bond set at $500,000 for Gentry man shot by deputy in Decatur

BENTONVILLE — A Gentry man involved in a shooting last week with Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies was being held in the jail Monday on $500,000 bond.

Hasten Nathaniel Merworth, 33, was booked at 8:35 p.m. Friday in the jail in connection with aggravated assault on a certified law enforcement officer or an employee of a correctional facility and violation of a protection order.

Deputies went Wednesday afternoon to 23465 W. Mountain Road in Decatur as they tried to find Merworth in connection with violation of a protection order, according to a probable cause affidavit. The property owner let them search the property, according to an affidavit.

Merworth was sitting in the driver’s seat of a silver Ford pickup. Deputies approached the pickup and saw Merworth with a gun. Deputies used their cars to block the pickup, according to the affidavit.

Lt. Harold Gage with the Sheriff’s Office saw Merworth put the gun in his lap. The deputies took cover and tried to resolve the situation verbally, according to the affidavit.

The camera in a deputy’s patrol car didn’t record the shooting, but it was able to pick up some of the conversation between a deputy and Merworth. The deputy urged Merworth to get out of the pickup, but Merworth told him he wanted to die, according to the affidavit.

A second dash camera recorded

the back of the pickup and audio of deputies repeatedly telling Merworth to put down the gun.

Merworth fired his gun multiple times from the pickup and Cpl. Matt Nading returned fire, according to the affidavit. Merworth was injured in his face and leg. He was airlifted to a medical facility in Springfield, Mo.

The Arkansas State Police is investigating the shooting. Troopers found a Ruger Mark 2 semi-auto .22 caliber pistol, four shell casings and five bullet fragments at the scene, according to the affidavit.

Prosecutors haven’t filed formal charges against Merworth.

Merworth’s arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. April 22 in Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren’s court.