01/25/17   Ouachita County Circuit Court

Charges of second degree murder have been filed in Ouachita County Circuit Court in Camden against a 54 year old Camden man. The charges were filed on January 19,  by Deputy Prosecuting attorney R. Jeffrey Sawyer. According to the information filed in court, Billy L. Smith of Camden shot and killed Robert Merritt in Smith's residence on December 24. Smith shot  Merrit twice with a 22 caliber rifle. He told police he though Merritt was breaking into his house but Merritt's sister told police that her brother had been at Smith's house all night.

32 year old Brandi N. Haynie of Camden has been charged in circuit court in Camden with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. On November 27, 2016, police responded to a domestic battery report at 1314 Ronald Drive in Camden. When officers responded, inside the house they found two glass jars containing marijuana, baggies used in the sale of marijuana and a digital scale. Haynie was arrested and charged.

Deputy Prosecutor R. Jeffrey Sawyer also filed charges in circuit court against 36 year old Jackson T. Jacobs of Camden for 3^rd degree domestic battery. On December 15, Camden police were called to 505 Maple Street where the victim stated that her boyfriend, Jackson Jacobs, was trying to have her evicted from the house, and finding how long it would take to evict her became angry. The victim stated Jacobs slammed her into a wall and tried to drag her by her ankles from the house. She suffered minor injuries. Police discovered that Jacobs plead guilty to a domestic battery charge in May of last year.

Deputy Prosecutor Phillip A. Stone filed charges in court against 52 year old David S. Gibbs of Camden. On November 6, Camden police charged Gibbs with possession of drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop. During an investigation, police discovered Gibbs has 11 prior felonies, in 2005 he received 10 years for possession of a controlled substance, in 2012, he received 5 counts of Breaking and Entering and 5 counts of criminal mischief. Stone will seek to have Gibbs tried under the habitual criminal statute that allows the judge in the case to sentence the person to more jail time.

A 23 year old Bearden man has been charged in circuit court in Camden with first degree battery. The charges against 23 year old A'Nicholas J. Nelson of Bearden are the result of a fight at the Lincoln Center in Camden on December 27.

According to charges filed by deputy prosecutor R . Jeffrey Sawyer, Camden police officer Kayla Reynolds was dispatched to the scene and observed Zantonio Mitchell with major swelling to his face and blood coming from his head. A witness told officer Reynolds she saw A'Nicholas Nelson beating Mitchell on the head as Nelson sat on top of Mitchell on the ground. Mitchell was not fighting back. Mitchell was taken to Ouachita County Medical center for treatment of a broken jaw and possible internal injuries. He was later transferred to a hospital in Hot Springs where it was discovered he had bleeding on the brain and underwent brain surgery. According to the report, as of January 4, Mitchell was still hospitalized in critical condition and hadn't regained consciousness.