7/3/2014 – 11:30PM
FULTON, ARK – Hempstead County Deputies were called to a situation Thursday night that quickly got out of control, resulting in a man being shot in the leg.
At about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, July 3, 2014, deputies were dispatched to 162 Hempstead 189 South near Fulton to a call that someone was threatening a man with a gun. According to Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton, Deputy Steven Dunham and Lieutenant Neil Barwick were en route when another call came across that shots had been fired and the man was hit.
Deputies converged on the area and made contact with a witness and the shooting victim, Deundre Smith. Sheriff Singleton said that Deputy Dunham observed Smith had been shot in the leg.
The Sheriff said Deputy Dunham asked Smith if he knew who shot him. A witness told Dunham that it was Tracey Lafayette and that he was at the residence next door.
Hempstead County CID and Sheriff Singleton arrived on the scene to investigate the incident. According to Sheriff Singleton, witnesses told investigators that Smith and Lafayette got into a verbal altercation in the middle of the road that turned physical. They said Smith and Lafayette went to the ground when two shots were fired.
Pafford EMS treated Smith for his injury and transported him to the hospital.
According to the Sheriff, Lafayette was transported to the Hempstead County Detention Facility and booked in. He is charged with Second Degree Battery which is a Felony in Arkansas.