Robert Lee Cheeter Jr., 28, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Terry Jones, 32.
Police arrested Cheeter in Pine Bluff on Saturday, about two weeks after Little Rock police named him a suspect in the killing.
Little Rock District Judge Alice Lightle on Monday set Cheeter's bail at $250,000.
Police reportedly found Jones shot about 8 p.m. Jan. 1 inside a vehicle at 523 E. 23rd St., one of several home addresses listed for Cheeter. Jones was taken to UAMS Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. An autopsy later showed Jones had been shot seven times, mostly in the head, according to a court affidavit.
Several people, including Jones' brother, Arlin, told investigators that Cheeter and Jones were cousins and they had been feuding since the two had a physical fight in late 2015, the affidavit states. Cheeter pulled a gun on Jones at one point during the feud, and Jones retaliated by shooting Cheeter's car. Jones later refused to pay for repairs.
Witnesses said Cheeter confronted then shot Jones over the repairs the evening of Jan. 1, according to the affidavit. But those witnesses each declined to provide a formal statement to police.
Cheeter said he was at his girlfriend's apartment across town when the shooting occurred, and his girlfriend backed up his account, police reported.
Police detective Steve Moore wrote in the court filing that in the months after Jones' death, investigators "received information on several occasions" that Cheeter had killed Jones over the car repairs. Moore wrote that some information came from an anonymous tip.
"The subject said that he [witnessed] the shooting and Robert Cheeter was the person who shot Jones," Moore wrote. "Cheeter walked up to the car and asked Jones if he had his money, and Jones told him it was 2016 and he wasn't worried about that. Cheeter then pointed a gun into the car and shot several times."
It wasn't until a separate shooting June 20 that police found someone willing to go on the record in the slaying. That's when Shamecca Johnson, 31, was shot at the Berkley Apartments at 1601 N. Shackleford Road.
Johnson initially told police she'd been leaving a friend's apartment when a man she didn't know shot her, according to a court affidavit. But later, in a statement to police, she said she'd been playing cards with Cheeter and his girlfriend, Latasha Smith, 26.
"Johnson said Cheeter was bragging about shooting Terry Jones and she made a comment that she could have recorded him," the affidavit states. "He got upset and threatened to kill her like he did Jones ... She tried to leave the residence and he struck her and pushed her into a wall. She was able to get away and as she left the residence he shot her."
Investigators found one .380-caliber shell casing at the scene. Police said shell casings of the same caliber were found at the scene of Jones' killing, which was the first homicide of the year in Little Rock.
Johnson also reportedly said that Smith "admitted that she covered for Cheeter and gave him an alibi for the homicide," according to the affidavit.
No charges had been filed against Smith.
In addition to the murder count, Cheeter faces a charge of first-degree battery in the shooting of Johnson.
He was also being held on two counts of aggravated animal cruelty. Police reportedly found two dead pit bulls, badly decomposed, in his backyard in February.
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Cheeter's next court date was set for Sept. 19.
ARREST INFORMATION:
Full Name: Robert Lee Cheeter, Jr.
Arrest Age: 28
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Block: 500 E 22nd St, Little Rock, Arkansas 72206
Date of arrest: 07/16/2016
Arresting Agency: LITTLE ROCK POLICE DEPARTMENT
Charges:
- MURDER - 1ST DEGREE
- BATTERY - 1ST DEGREE
- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
(Arkansas Online - July 19, 2016)
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