Nine January killings under investigation
Month’s homicides up from ’22, ’21 in Pulaski County
Law enforcement in Pulaski County investigated the deaths of nine people as homicides in January, authorities said, making the first month of 2023 deadlier than Januaries in 2021 and 2022.
Little Rock police investigated five killings and North Little Rock police four. In each of the previous two years, seven homicides were reported in the county in January.
All but two of the killings last month were shootings, police said, and all but two of the victims were male. The average age of the deceased was 32.
North Little Rock police investigated the first homicide of the year after the body of Brock Welch, 27, was found Jan. 2 near 1200 Gregory St. in North Little Rock.
Authorities initially said that Welch had suffered “significant trauma” and declined to disclose the cause of death because they judged it to be important to the case, but a police incident report indicates that Welch was killed with a firearm.
Welch had previously been reported missing out of his home city of Sherwood, and police had located his empty vehicle earlier that morning, they said.
As of Saturday, no suspect had been identified in Welch’s killing.
Little Rock police on the morning of Jan. 3 investigated the death of Calvin Perkins, 40, who was found stabbed to death near 712 W. Third St.
An investigation led to the arrest of James Lambert, 29, later that same day. Lambert had a cut on his right hand and blood on his shirt, according to a probable cause letter written by a detective.
In an interview with detectives, Lambert said he had wanted to kill Perkins for over a week and had made sure he was dead before leaving the scene, the letter states, although it was not clear why Lambert wanted to hurt Perkins.
Lambert was being held without bail in the Pulaski County jail Saturday on a capital murder charge, the jail’s online inmate roster showed. He pleaded innocent Jan. 4, court records show.
Little Rock officers late on Jan. 5 arrived at UAMS Medical Center to find Carnelius Williams, 17, who had been shot and died of his wounds at the hospital. They were able to determine the shooting had happened in the road outside 7624 Depriest Road in Mabelvale.
Detectives identified Derrick Jackson, 19, as a suspect in the killing, and he surrendered to police Jan. 9. Police think that Williams and Jackson knew each other, though that relationship was not specified.
Jackson was being held without bail Saturday in the Pulaski County jail, the online inmate roster showed. He pleaded innocent on Jan. 10, court records show.
North Little Rock police on Jan. 6 investigated the shooting of a 17-year-old male who died at an area hospital after he was found wounded inside a residence at 4505 Pike Ave. Police as of Saturday had yet to identify the teenager, and his name was redacted from a police incident report.
Police also had not publicly identified a suspect in the killing.
Also Jan. 6, Little Rock police responded to a shooting at 9400 Stagecoach Road and located Kevin Rauls, 20, fatally shot. He died at the scene, police said.
Police as of Saturday had not publicly identified a suspect in Rauls’ killing.
On the evening of Jan. 11, Little Rock police responding to a report of a burglary at 1001 Breckenridge Drive found Chelsea McKenzly, 28, standing near her car in the parking lot with the body of Tiffany Williams, 36, wrapped in blankets on the ground.
McKenzly initially told police that she had returned from a trip to Monroe, La., to find that someone had broken into the apartment and killed Williams, her ex-girlfriend, according to an arrest affidavit.
However, witnesses said that McKenzly and Williams argued often and had fought loudly the night before, and McKenzly’s story changed several times as she spoke with police.
McKenzly eventually stated that during a fight Williams choked her and threatened her with a knife, prompting her to stab her ex-girlfriend, according to the affidavit.
McKenzly wrapped the body with blankets and left for West Monroe for court proceedings, returning that night to deal with the body, the affidavit states.
She was being held in the Pulaski County jail Saturday in lieu of a $1 million bond on charges of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to the jail’s online inmate roster. She pleaded innocent on Jan. 12, court records show.
Little Rock police on the evening of Jan. 16 responded to 56 Epernay Circle, where a caller reported his father and stepmother were dead downstairs. Officers discovered the body of Stacy Petty, 45, who had been shot, and Nathan Petty, 45, who had apparently killed himself after shooting Stacy Petty.
The two were in the midst of a divorce and had not been living together, court records showed.
On Jan. 17, North Little Rock police responding to a report of a shooting near 1701 E. Broadway located Christopher Dobbins, 30, who had been shot and died at the scene.
Police identified Brandon Jefferson, 25, as a suspect in the killing, and he surrendered to police on Jan. 19, authorities said.
Jefferson was being held in the Pulaski County jail Saturday in lieu of a $1 million bond, the jail’s online inmate roster showed.
He faces charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery in Dobbins’ death, police said.
North Little Rock police on Jan. 22 responded to a residential burglary alarm at 2701 Lakeview Road and located Alison Broyles, 34, inside the residence.
She was detained while officers searched the home because it was determined she did not live there and she was acting suspiciously, police said.
A search uncovered the body of Douglas Reynolds, 56, who had been shot several times, leading to the arrest of Broyles.
Broyles was being held without bail in the Pulaski County jail Saturday on a capital murder charge, the jail’s inmate roster showed.
Police were also still investigating two violent deaths — one in North Little Rock and another in Little Rock — that were not included in the homicide totals.
On Jan. 18, North Little Rock police said they responded to a report of a disturbance with a weapon in the 4700 block of Locust Street that led to a standoff with an armed man inside the residence.
One victim was removed from the scene.
During the standoff, Joseph Smith, 39, of Little Rock fired shots and exited the residence while pointing a gun at officers, police said, leading to one of the officers firing their service weapon at Smith, who retreated inside.
A police SWAT team later entered the residence and found Smith dead, but it was not clear if police fatally wounded him or if he killed himself.
An internal investigation was still underway into the incident, North Little Rock police Lt. Amy Cooper said Friday, and it wasn’t yet clear if the death would be recorded as a homicide.
Last year, when North Little Rock police killed 66-year-old Arlen Bates during a gunfight that followed a standoff with police, the death was counted as a homicide in the city, police said. A police dog was shot in the firefight but later recovered.
In Little Rock on Jan. 26, officers responding to an “assist medical” call encountered a woman with blood coming from her mouth who said her boyfriend Elbert Miller, 31, was inside the residence with a gun.
Officers Larry Mears Jr. and Scott Hampton tried to speak with Miller, but he would not reply, and they entered through a door that had been left ajar, police said. They said Miller came out of a bedroom with a gun pressed to his head, and at least one of the officers fired shots.
It was still not clear Saturday whether Miller killed himself or if one of the officers shot him.
Both were placed on administrative leave while the internal investigation was underway.
Little Rock police spokesman Mark Edwards said last week that it was too soon to say if Miller’s death would be considered a homicide.
As of Saturday, Little Rock police had made arrests in three of the five homicides reported in the city, while a fourth — the killing of Stacy Petty — would be considered closed by exception because the suspect, Nathan Petty, is dead.
North Little Rock police had made arrests in two of the four homicides investigated by their officers in January.
As of Saturday, Little Rock police had made arrests in three of the five homicides reported in the city, while a fourth — the killing of Stacy Petty — would be considered closed by exception because the suspect, Nathan Petty, is dead.