Man sentenced to 50 years for 2020 shooting death
A local man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to charges in the July 4, 2020, shooting death and robbery of another man who had given him a ride.
Christopher Deandre Deshon Gipson, 22, who has remained in custody on zero bond since his arrest July 7, 2020, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison, and to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 10 years, with the sentences to run consecutively for a total of 50 years.
Garland County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro said Wednesday Gipson, who had no prior felony history, will have to serve at least 70%, or 35 years, of his sentence before he is eligible for parole under sentencing guidelines.
Petro said Gipson pleading guilty eliminates any further appeals in the case and “lets the process be over.” Gipson was initially charged with capital murder in the case, punishable by death, but prosecutors had waived the death penalty at a hearing on Sept. 1, 2020, and later amended the charge to first-degree murder.
An additional felony charge of theft by receiving of a firearm, punishable by up to six years in prison, stemming from allegations he was in possession of a stolen gun at the time of his arrest was withdrawn as part of the plea agreement.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on July 4, 2020, around 10 a.m., Hot Springs police responded to the 100 block of Mica Street regarding a welfare check on a man in the driver’s seat of a parked car
who appeared to be deceased.
Officers found a white 1998 Lincoln Town Car with a deceased man later identified as Tristan Smith, 23, sitting at the steering wheel of the car with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Two 9-mm casings were found at the scene.
Officers located a security camera from a nearby location that showed the Lincoln pull up and stop there around 4:15 a.m. that day. The vehicle never moved from that location, the affidavit states.
On July 6, Lt. Duane Tarbet and Detective Joey Vanderburg spoke to two witnesses who had information about the case. The witnesses said on July 4, between 2 and 3 p.m., they were at the Dodge Store, 640 E. Grand Ave., when Gipson, whom they knew, approached them and asked for a ride.
While they were en route to Gipson’s residence in the 200 block of Autumn Street, Gipson told them he “had something on his mind.” He then said, “Man, I got a body on me” and then told them he had “killed a guy” earlier that day.
When they got to his residence, Gipson got out and asked them if they had heard what happened that morning. One witness said he told Gipson that yes, he had heard about Smith being found dead. At that point, Gipson said, “I did that.”
When the witness asked how he did it, Gipson said he shot him in the back of the head.
The witness said he has known Gipson since 2015 and showed Tarbet a photo from Gipson’s Facebook page. Officers later showed both witnesses a photo of Gipson obtained from Justice Exchange and they confirmed it was him.
On July 7, after Gipson’s arrest, he was brought to the police department and questioned after being read his Miranda rights. Gipson said he had met Smith near his residence on Autumn in the early morning hours of July 4.
He said he got into Smith’s vehicle and pulled a handgun on him, demanding money and Smith’s cellphone, intending to rob him. Smith refused and started driving with Gipson in the car. Smith stopped on Mica Street and Gipson again demanded his phone and told him to remove his iCloud account from the phone.
When Smith refused again, Gipson said he “became angry.” He said he exited the vehicle, pointed the handgun through the already lowered rear passenger window, “took aim,” held it for a brief moment, and then shot Smith twice in the back of the head. He said he then went through his pockets, took his cellphone and left on foot.
At the time of his arrest, Smith had two 9-mm semi-automatic pistols in his possession. One of the guns was determined to have been reported stolen from a local man’s vehicle. Smith’s cellphone was later recovered in the 500 block of Crescent Street “after Gipson informed officers where it could be located.”