Shot fired during Fayetteville armed robbery; two arrested

FAYETTEVILLE — Police say two men were arrested in connection with an armed robbery stemming from a bogus drug deal.

Jakevius Malik Hollis, 18, and Jacobi Dent, 18, both of Forrest City, were arrested in connection with aggravated robbery, terroristic act and theft of property. Hollis was being held Wednesday in the Washington County Detention Center with no bond set. Dent was being held Wednesday in the Washington County jail on $200,000 bond.

Police went to 528 N. Betty Jo Drive for a report of a shooting. After the officers arrived and spoke to three residents, they learned the shooting was an aggravated robbery, according to a preliminary police report.

Two of the residents said they were trying to buy marijuana from a man known to them as “Ty,” according to the report. When Ty and two other men arrived, the residents offered them

$250 for the purchase. Ty “brandished a pistol and demanded that the victims give them the money,” according to the report.

Police said there was an altercation and a shot was fired. The bullet hit a couch and went through the north wall of the apartment and into the adjoining apartment where it stopped on top of a couch.

While they were in the apartment, police received a call saying one of the suspects went into the apartment at 529 N. Betty Jo Drive. Detectives went to that home, heard movement upstairs and Dent eventually came downstairs.

Dent was arrested and officers found $95 in cash on him and a pistol in an upstairs closet. The ammunition matched the shell recovered from the robbery.

Dent told police they set up the robbery and he was holding the pistol when it was fired, according to the report. Dent also identified the others involved, according to the report.

One of the other suspects was identified as Hollis. The third was identified as a juvenile.

Dent

Hollis