Teen faces murder charge in shooting

HOT SPRINGS — Police arrested a teen last week in connection with the March 14 shooting death of a man whose body was found in Hollywood Park.

Payton Jason Mann, 18, was taken into custody shortly after 11 a.m. in the 700 block of Spring Street.

He’s charged with capital murder, punishable by the death penalty or life in prison, and aggravated robbery, punishable by up to life in prison, in the death of 20-year-old Joshua Severns of Hot Springs, police said in a news release.

According to court documents, including the warrant for his arrest, the suspect’s name is listed as Payton Jason Mann-Douthit and his last known address as an apartment at 760 Spring St.

The warrant listed a bond of $500,000, but Mann was reportedly being held on zero bond shortly after his arrest Thursday.

A Crime Stoppers reward of $1,500 had been offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the murder of Severns. It wasn’t known Thursday what led police to Mann.

The case file against Mann was ordered sealed Tuesday by Garland County Circuit Court Judge John Homer Wright. Wright also issued a gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case, which was filed direct to circuit court Tuesday.

According to an earlier news release, police responded about 11:38 p.m March 14 to a report of shots fired in the area of Hollywood Park, 411 Hollywood Ave. Officers found Severns dead from a gunshot wound behind the restrooms.

During the course of the investigation, it was determined Severns left his home on foot to meet someone and was directed to certain locations before making it to the park, the release said.