North-central Arkansas sheriff’s deputy fatally shot, suspect is in custody

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant and a suspect is in custody, Arkansas State Police said Wednesday.

State police said Stone County Deputy Justin Smith was shot Tuesday afternoon at a home about 5 miles north of Mountain View while trying to serve Clinton Hefton with a misdemeanor terroristic threatening warrant. Mountain View is about 79 miles north of Little Rock.

State police, which is investigating the shooting, said early evidence indicates that Hefton, 52, resisted arrest and shot at Smith. The deputy was found fatally shot by officers who responded to reports of shots fired.

Officers later took Hefton into custody at the home after a brief standoff, state police said. Hefton is being held at the Cleburne County jail with charges pending. The jail’s inmate roster did not indicate an initial appearance had been set.

“At this time, we ask that everyone pray for Deputy Smith’s family and all of his law enforcement brothers and sisters,” Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long said in a news release.

A Stone County deputy died in a shooting in 2019 in Leslie, about 77 miles north of Little Rock, when responding to a domestic welfare check. The suspect in the shooting was also fatally shot.