Ark. deputy, shot while responding to call at house, dies

HACKETT, Ark. -- An Arkansas deputy died Wednesday after being shot in the neck while responding to a call at a house, the sheriff said.

Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper was pronounced dead at a hospital around 1:15 p.m., Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said during a news conference. Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells was also shot and suffered superficial wounds.

The shootings occurred Wednesday morning in a rural, wooded area near Hackett, a town of about 800 residents.

Hollenbeck said Cooper had been a deputy since 2001. He was around age 65 and was planning to retire soon, Hollenbeck said.

"We have limited information as to why this has happened," Hollenbeck said, adding that investigators are "looking into" the possibility that this was a planned attack.

Authorities said the officers went to the home, about 6 miles from the Oklahoma border, responding to the report of a domestic incident.

Hollenbeck said Wednesday that 35-year-old Billy Monroe Jones had pointed a weapon at his father, who called 911. The sheriff said responding officers found Jones with a rifle and body armor and that Jones fired at Cooper and Spells, among others.

The sheriff said Jones was due in a Fort Smith courtroom Wednesday for a hearing on whether a previous suspended sentence should be revoked. Court records show he has had a drug conviction along with a handful of minor charges.

The sheriff said Jones wanted to cause a "ruckus" ahead of a court appearance.

"Immediately when three officers got [to the house] they were basically ambushed," Sgt. Daniel Grubbs with the Fort Smith Police Department told CBS affiliate KFSM. "The information we have received right now is it appears this guy was waiting for us to get here. It seems [he had] full intent to inflict violence against us."

Other deputies braved gunfire to pull Cooper and Spells from the scene to bring them to EMS, so they could be taken to the hospital, the station reports.

After the shooting, the suspect barricaded himself inside the house for more than 4½ hours before being arrested.

Dozens of police vehicles, including a SWAT truck, quickly descended on the area. A Greenwood K-9 was also believed to have been shot during the gunfire exchange with Jones, Greenwood Police Chief Will Dawson tells the station.

Jones also reportedly shot a police robot and disabled it during the standoff. Eventually, he surrendered, reportedly waving a white flag out of a window, walking out with his hands raised and laying down on the ground to be handcuffed.

James Markward, who lives nearby, said he heard a commotion early Wednesday.

"It woke me up this morning, the gunshots. Of course I didn't know what was going on," the 72-year-old told The Associated Press in telephone interview. "My neighbor called me and asked if I was shooting, and I said 'No, not me.'"

Markward said the shooting suspect once helped him split wood, but said he hadn't seen the man in a few years.

"As far as I know, he was all right," he said.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he didn't have details about the shooting but said it underscored the danger that the state's law enforcement officers face.

"It's a risky business and it really illustrates the importance of our support for law enforcement," Hutchinson told reporters at an event in North Little Rock.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, whose district includes part of Sebastian County, also didn't have details about the incident but echoed the governor's support for police statewide.

"This has to stop," Westerman said. "It's a shame the price that law enforcement officers are paying right now and, again, I don't know any details about what's happening here, but my heart and prayer is with them and their families."

Currently, Jones is facing charges of two counts of felony first-degree battery and possession of firearms by certain persons, the Sebastian County prosecutor's office tells the station. Formal charges have not yet been filed and more charges are likely to be added.