Police say man fired shot at visitor, pointed gun at ex-girlfriend inside Hope apartment

HOPE, Ark. — A Sherwood man is charged with two counts of aggravated assault after police say he let himself into his ex-girlfriend’s Hope apartment in the middle of the night with a key she had taken back from him, chased a visitor outside and fired a shot at him, then pointed the gun in her face, court records show.

Jeffery Antonio Woodberry, 24, was charged Friday in Hempstead County Circuit Court with aggravated assault on a family or household member, aggravated assault and first-degree criminal mischief, according to a criminal information filed by the office of Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hale. Each charge is a Class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, court records show.

Hope Police Cpl. K. Malone was called to a disturbance at the Canyon Creek Apartments on West 23rd Street at about 1 a.m. May 24, according to an affidavit by Hope Police Detective Casey Singleton.

The woman, the mother of Woodberry’s young son, told officers that Woodberry came into her apartment uninvited while a male friend was visiting, the affidavit says. She said she had taken Woodberry’s key from him, but he had somehow gotten another one. Fearing Woodberry would shoot her friend, she told him to run.

As the man ran for the door, he saw Woodberry come out of another room and heard the sound of a gun’s slide chambering a round, the affidavit says. Woodberry chased him down the stairs, and the man said he heard one gunshot and heard the bullet pass his right ear. He ran into the woods and hid in the bushes for about 30 minutes, then knocked on doors looking for help, according to the affidavit.

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The woman said Woodberry came back inside, yelled at her and punched her in the chest, the affidavit says. He later returned again and smashed the man’s iPhone and her own, pointed a black handgun in her face and pushed her to the ground outside. He also broke her flat-screen TV, according to the affidavit.

Her cousin, who arrived during the confrontation, told police he saw Woodberry slap her on the back of the head and point what looked like a Glock handgun in her face, according to the affidavit. The cousin said he tried to calm the situation down and, believing a phone she handed him was Woodberry’s, gave it to Woodberry, who smashed it on the ground. Woodberry then left in a white Nissan Altima with his sister and the couple’s son, the affidavit says.

Two days later, the woman petitioned for an order of protection against Woodberry. A judge granted a temporary order the next day, and after a July 17 hearing at which both appeared without lawyers, the court found she was in immediate and present danger of domestic abuse and issued a final order of protection that runs until July 2028, court records show. The order bars Woodberry from contacting her.

A warrant for Woodberry’s arrest was issued May 28. He was booked into the Hempstead County jail Oct. 5, jail records show, and posted $500, 10% of a $5,000 cash bond, on Oct. 8. His first court appearance is set for Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. at the Hempstead County Courthouse, according to the bond paperwork. Court records do not list an attorney for him.