Man jailed after shooting, 1 dead

HOT SPRINGS – A Jessieville man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a Sept. 20 shooting in Royal that left one man dead, but he has not been charged in connection with the man's death.

Cody James Gonzales, 30, was taken into custody shortly after 11:30 a.m. at Gorge Road and East Grand Avenue and charged with two counts of committing a terrorist act, punishable by up to life in prison, and two counts of Certain people charged with possession of a firearm can be punished with up to 20 years in prison because they are a criminal with multiple convictions.

Gonzales was held without bail and was scheduled to appear in Garland County District Court on Wednesday.

In a news release issued Wednesday morning, Garland County Sheriff's Office public information officer Sgt. John Schroeder said a person was arrested “on multiple warrants related” to the Sept. 20 incident at 132 Reveille Terrace in Royal, where a man , identified as Jonathan Huff, was found dead “with an apparent gunshot wound.” Several other people had fled the scene before officers arrived.

“The Garland County Sheriff's Office Tactical Response Team, with assistance from Arkansas State Police, worked to locate individuals who had fled the scene,” the release said. “This is still an ongoing investigation.”

According to Gonzales' arrest affidavit, obtained Wednesday, just after 9 p.m. on Sept. 20, the Garland County Communication Center received a 911 call about a shooting at 132 Reveille Terrace.

Sheriff's deputies dispatched to that address made contact with a 35-year-old woman who stated her husband, Jonathan Huff, 45, had been shot and several other people had fled the scene.

Officers determined that Huff had died in the yard with an apparent gunshot wound. A second woman, 32, later identified as Gonzales' wife, was located “in a nearby area” and said she was at the scene when the shooting occurred.

A 50-year-old man who was at his apartment at 132 Reveille, along with Huff's wife and Gonzales' wife, were taken to the sheriff's office for questioning.

Huff's wife said she drove to Reveille Terrace in Huff's truck with her husband and his friend, identified as Gonzales, “to retrieve stolen property.” She said when they got there, Huff and Gonzales got out of Huff's truck and “started yelling at someone.” Then Gonzales “grabbed a gun and started shooting.”

She said she hid behind the seat but could see Gonzales shooting through the window and heard gunshots “from a greater distance.” She said she then heard Gonzales screaming that Huff had been shot. Huff's wife said she got out of the truck and ran to her husband. When she saw he had died, she ran back to the truck and called 911.

Huff's wife said Gonzales fired a handgun during the shooting, but then took a rifle from the truck and continued shooting. She noted that Huff had a black handgun, a brown handgun and an AR-15 in the truck. She said one pistol was a .40 caliber and the other was a 9mm pistol.

Gonzales' wife was interviewed and stated that she was sitting in a truck on Reveille Terrace with her 29-year-old ex-husband when a truck pulled up behind them. She said they both got out of the vehicle and then she heard a male voice screaming and realized it was her husband, Gonzales.

She said Gonzales “started shooting” and her ex-husband “ran to the house,” grabbed a gun and fired back. She said at that point, “bullets were flying everywhere,” so she ran “into the woods” and was later picked up by officers.

The resident of the Reveille home was interviewed and stated that Gonzales' wife and her ex-husband were outside his residence when another truck pulled up. He said he went outside and “heard a man screaming” and then the man “started shooting” and he saw Gonzales' ex-husband running toward the house where he was.

The resident said he ran to the back of the apartment building and hid there until officers found him.

While investigating the crime scene, sheriff's investigators discovered a black .40-caliber Glock pistol in Huff's truck that matched his wife's description, and there were .40-caliber shell casings on the ground around the truck.

The affidavit states that the truck carrying Gonzales' wife and her ex-husband was reported stolen, that two bullet holes were found in the tailgate and “a projectile was recovered.” There were also two bullet holes in the side of the home in Reveille and two additional projectiles were recovered.

More .223-caliber rounds were reportedly found on the ground, and an AR-15 located “in the woods not far from the crime scene” reportedly matched the description of the weapon Huff's wife told investigators Gonzales shot have.

There was a brown 9mm pistol under Huff's body and there were .22 caliber shell casings near the residence.

On September 22, Gonzales was interviewed at the sheriff's office after being read his rights. He stated that he, Huff and Huff's wife were in Huff's truck and another man followed them to the Reveille Terrace residence to see if the other man's property was stolen at that address, the affidavit states .

Gonzales said when they arrived, he saw “a guy at the house reaching for a gun,” so he grabbed a black handgun from Huff's truck and “started shooting,” the affidavit said.

He said he then heard gunshots and saw Huff fall to the ground. He said he continued firing “in the direction from which he heard the shots” and then threw the black handgun back into Huff's truck before fleeing the scene, the affidavit said.

Gonzales was not charged at the time, but later, on September 27, a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of terrorism and weapons possession.