Vigil to honor shooting victim
It’s been more than a year since the shooting death of local entrepreneur and magazine publisher Maxwell “MaXx” Anderson, with no arrests made or charges filed in the case.
His family plans a candlelight vigil in his honor Wednesday night “to get the word out” and “bring light to his murder,” his sister said Monday.
The vigil is scheduled for 7: 30 p. m. Wednesday at the Garland County Court House, 501 Ouachita Ave., so “his friends and people who knew him can come out,” one of his sisters, Tristine Anderson Galvan, said. “He was very well known in the community through all his businesses.”
According to reports, on Feb. 29, 2012, shortly before 2: 30 p. m., Garland County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from a female caller about a shooting at 251 Ledgerwood Road and arrived to find Anderson, 34, lying facedown
in the driveway with a gunshot wound.
Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was later sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy. Deputies were met at the scene by two people, Andrea Davis, a local attorney, and her brother, Matthew Davis, who both immediately requested an attorney and declined to give a statement at that time.
The two were later questioned by sheriff’s investigators with their attorney present and gave statements. They were both released that same day and no charges have been filed in the case as of Monday.
Garland County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Oliver said Monday he received the file from investigators around 5 p. m. July 1, “just a few days ago,” and has not had a chance to review it.
He said he has been in contact with Anderson’s father and plans to meet with the family but “we are going to need a few weeks to review the case. I hope I will be able to answer all their questions at that time.”
Galvan said she understood if Oliver just got the file but “we wanted to keep it in the public eye and try to get it pushed along and hopefully get something done about it. It’s just been pushed off and pushed off and we felt our only recourse was going to the public.”
The victim’s brother, Martin Anderson, moved to Hot Springs shortly before his death, but the rest of the family, including his father, Galvan, and two other sisters all live in Texas or Minnesota, and the victim’s son, Shawn Anderson, 18, has since moved to Colorado. She said Shawn Anderson and his mother were not going to be able to attend the vigil Wednesday.
Galvan said they have been trying to talk to investigators and prosecutors about the case before now “and not having much success.” She said most of what they’ve learned about the case has been from other people.
She said they were aware of “the two people who were at the scene and taken in for questioning” and that they were released that same night and able to return to the scene.
“I’ve heard one has admitted to the shooting and they are claiming self- defense but we believe that self- defense or not, it’s still a homicide. MaXx is not here to defend himself. They can’t just let this go. That’s not how it works.”
She compared it to the shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida in which George Zimmerman is claiming self- defense, noting Zimmerman is on trial there in the case. “He has to prove it’s self- defense.”
She said she knew her brother didn’t have a gun at the time of the shooting, but has heard rumors he may have had a golf club or a pocket knife. “I think he was defenseless,” she said.
Galvan said her brother was “very outgoing” and “just the friendliest person in the world” who “would do anything for anybody.”
Anderson was the founder of Arkansas Vibe magazine, a monthly publication launched in 2008 “dedicated to social- minded fun seekers with articles on music, food, style, sports and nightlife” with an emphasis on music and local bands.
She said he was a photographer but also did computer web designs and had done some work for Davis’ law firm, including collections and paralegal work. She noted he also worked in interior decorating and design.
“He was in the business of promoting Hot Springs and tourism,” she said. “That’s what he did.”
She said his death was hard on the family and especially his young son who continues to “have good days and bad days” since the shooting. “When your father is murdered, it’s hard for a teen to comprehend that – to have to deal with the grief and the anger. I think he’s doing the best he can.”
Galvan said there will probably be some speakers and some Bible readings at Wednesday’s event and encouraged everyone who knew her brother to attend.
“We don’t want him to be forgotten. We want him to be remembered for the wonderful man he was,” she said. “We want to keep it out in the open and not swept under the rug.”