Man pleads guilty to road rage incident
The driver of a vehicle involved in a road rage incident earlier this year in which his 8-month-old son and a 16-year-old girl were passengers pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Dallas James Landry, 22, who was set to stand trial April 27, opted to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, punishable by up to six years in prison, and was sentenced to six years’ probation, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $190 in court costs.
Landry was arrested on the charges on May 21, stemming from an incident on May 11, and later released on a $5,000 bond. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges on Aug. 17.
Kira Kamile Yvette Thompson, 19, who was
reportedly in the car with Landry, was arrested May 11 and charged with three counts of aggravated assault, punishable by up to six years in prison, for allegedly pointing a gun at the occupants of the other vehicle involved in the incident. She was later released on a $7,500 bond and pleaded not guilty on Sept. 1. She is set for a hearing on the admissibility of any statements she made to Hot Springs police on Jan. 19, 2021.
Landry had pleaded guilty on Nov. 17 in circuit court to felony counts of lottery fraud and theft of property over $1,000 and was sentenced to six years’ probation, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay
$3,390 in restitution and $440 in court costs. The charges stem from Landry stealing and cashing lottery tickets while employed at E-Z Mart,
505 Summer St. The fraud and theft sentence will run concurrently with the endangerment sentence he received Monday.
According to the probable cause affidavit on the endangerment charges, on May 11, police were contacted about two vehicles engaged in a “road rage style” confrontation involving a gun. Officers made contact with the victim’s vehicle, which was occupied by two men and a woman who stated another vehicle had pursued them at a high rate of speed and then pulled in front of them forcing them to stop.
All three reported that Thompson aimed a pistol at them while they were attempting to get away. The incident reportedly started from comments on Facebook between two of the victims and the occupants of the other vehicle.
The driver of the suspect vehicle, a maroon Ford Fusion, was later identified as Landry and it was noted his vehicle was occupied by Landry’s 8-month-old son and a 16-year-old female in addition to Thompson and two other adults.
Landry agreed to come in for questioning and admitted he was pursuing the other vehicle “because he was angry at them for swerving towards him earlier.” He also admitted to driving “at least 80 mph” while pursuing the other vehicle and that he attempted to force them to stop on Albert Pike.
Landry said he was unaware of Thompson aiming a handgun during the incident. Thompson and one of the other adults in Landry’s vehicle were interviewed and reportedly confirmed Landry was driving at a high rate of speed and “recklessly tried to force another vehicle to stop in the middle of the highway at least two times.”
The affidavit noted Landry’s driving “created a substantial risk of death or physical injury to the occupants of both vehicles, including the two juveniles in the back seat” of Landry’s vehicle.
When questioned about her part in the incident, Thompson allegedly admitted she did pull the gun out and “aim it out the window,” but claimed she never aimed it at the other vehicle. She said they might have seen her “displaying it.”