Suspects in a recent shooting in the Searcy J.C. Penney parking lot were arrested after a police car chase last Saturday in Arkansas and Texas.
According to an Arkansas Online report, the car chase began when an Arkansas trooper tried to initiate a traffic stop. Arkansas State Police Lt. Brady Gore said the vehicle accelerated and crossed the Arkansas-Texas border, leading officers from both states on the chase. Johnny Patton, 27, and Amanda Hampton, 27, both of Arlington, Texas, and a third unnamed suspect were arrested when the car struck a curb and was forced to a stop.
Searcy Police Department spokesman Cpl. Steve Hernandez told Arkansas Online that the description of the three matched that of suspects in a Friday night shooting around 7 p.m. in the Searcy J.C. Penney parking lot. Searcy resident Shane Looney, 40, sustained a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Senior Jeslyn Willis, who works at J.C. Penney and was working at the time of the incident, said she was at the back entrance and did not hear the gunshots. Willis said the police asked her a few questions about whether she had heard anything, and they later blocked off the parking lot. By the time Willis left work at 9:30 p.m., the lot was clear.
“It’s scary for sure,” Willis said. “This is the third violent crime in that strip in the past few months. That’s why when we clock out, we all walk together to our cars, and our managers don’t leave until everyone is in their car, driving away. I feel safe with the people I work with, but you can’t help (but) feel uneasy.”
Police said Looney was planning to meet someone in the parking lot to sell a ring he had listed on Craigslist. Looney went to White County Medical Center and was in stable condition by late Friday night.
According to a statement from the Searcy Police Department, Patton will be charged with aggravated robbery, and Hampton will be charged with accomplice to aggravated robbery. Patton and Hampton will both be charged with first-degree battery. The third unnamed individual will not be charged.
Looney’s shooting was the second to occur in the shopping center parking lot in the last five weeks.
