Man gets prison for home invasion, shooting
A reportedly homeless parolee arrested in 2022 following a home invasion in which he shot one male victim in the arm and attempted to shoot three women was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to multiple charges.
Harvest Lee Aings, 31, who listed “city streets” as his address at the time of his arrest on Sept. 5, 2022, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to residential burglary, amended from an original charge of aggravated residential burglary, first-degree battery and possession of a firearm by certain persons.
He was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in prison for the burglary charge, 15 years for the battery charge, and the maximum of 20 years, with 15 suspended, on the firearm charge.
Deputy Prosecutor Caitlin Bornhoft told The Sentinel-Record after the hearing Aings will have to serve the five years in prison on the charge “day for day” with no parole followed by the 15 years suspended “that could be served day for day if he violates the conditions of his suspended sentence.”
Bornhoft also noted that three additional counts of aggravated assault, punishable by up to six years, were withdrawn as part of the plea deal. Aings has remained in custody in lieu of $750,000 bond since his arrest.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Sept. 4, 2022, around 10:45 p.m., Hot Springs police responded to a residence in the 100 block of Centerview Street regarding a shooting.
Officers found a male victim on the kitchen floor with “a large pool of blood around him.” He had a gunshot wound to his upper right arm and was transported by LifeNet to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs where he was rushed into surgery and was listed in serious condition.
Officers located two 9 mm shell casings at the scene and spoke to four witnesses, including one male and three females.
The male witness and one female witness stated they were outside the residence in the driveway working on the woman’s vehicle when a known suspect, identified as Aings, approached on foot from the south. They noted Aings was talking, but “none of the words made any sense” to either of them.
Aings then fired a single round from a handgun while standing in the street in front of the residence. He then approached the female who was standing by the driver’s door of her vehicle and pressed the muzzle of the gun to her left shoulder. She said she heard Aings “say something about if she thought he was holding a BB gun.” She said she heard a click, but the gun did not discharge a round.
Aings then began “messing” with the handgun while running toward the front door of the residence and then went inside. Two females who were inside told police they saw Aings, whom they both knew, come inside “brandishing a handgun.”
He pointed the gun at one female victim as he passed her, holding the gun to her face, cursed at her and then pulled the trigger. The weapon reportedly misfired as the victim ran into her bedroom and hid behind the door.
Aings then pointed the gun at the second female victim’s head and pulled the trigger, but the gun again did not fire. He then approached the kitchen doorway and fired three rounds at the male victim who was standing in the kitchen, striking him “at least one time,” the affidavit says.
Aings then ran out the door and fled the scene on foot. As officers were talking to the witnesses, additional officers were searching the area for Aings and spotted a Black male matching his description in the area of Summer and Francis streets, but he was able to get away.
As officers continued to search the area, they found a 9mm handgun. Minutes later, officers spotted Aings again and were able to take him into custody. In searching him, they located a 9 mm magazine with rounds in his pants pocket and later matched the magazine to the handgun they had located.
Aings was initially held on zero bond and the charges were bound over to circuit court where he pleaded innocent to all of them on Dec. 5, 2022. On March 8, 2023, Aings’ attorney requested a mental evaluation for his client which was granted, staying any other proceedings in the case.
On Oct. 3, he was found fit to proceed after a hearing and the case was set for a disposition hearing on Nov. 14. The case was continued three times and finally set for a disposition hearing on Tuesday.
According to court records, Aings was convicted of felony burglary in Ouachita Parish, La., in 2014. On July 13, 2021, he was convicted of possession of a firearm by certain persons in Garland County and sentenced to four years in prison, but later paroled and was on parole at the time of the incident in 2022.
The male witness and one female witness stated they were outside the residence in the driveway working on the woman’s vehicle when a known suspect, identified as Aings, approached on foot from the south. They noted Aings was talking, but “none of the words made any sense” to either of them.