TEXARKANA, Ark. - Prosecutors have formally charged an 18-year-old man accused of fatally shooting two and wounding a third as a child slept in an adjacent bedroom at a Texarkana house in August.
Justin Dalton Wilson is accused of capital murder in the Aug. 28 deaths of Scott Wiegmann, 45, and Reginald Davis, 37, and of attempted capital murder in the shooting of 25-year-old Lajhonta Collier. A charge of aggravated assault stems from the risk the shooting created for Collier's 7-year-old child sleeping in a nearby room in apartment 52 of a complex in the 2000 block of 24th Street in Texarkana, Arkansas, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Collier allegedly told investigators who interviewed him at a local hospital on the night of the shooting that he, Wilson, Wiegmann and Davis were gambling. Wilson, who was allegedly under the influence of Xanax, reportedly became angry at losing, "began blaming everyone there," and pulled out a gun and shot the three victims.
Xanax is a prescription anxiety medication that is a common drug of abuse.
Wilson allegedly took all of Collier's money and the winnings from Davis. Those allegations are at the root of an aggravated robbery charge also levied against Wilson.
Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Potter Barrett said that a decision has not been reached as to whether her office will seek the death penalty for Wilson though she said such a punishment is unlikely for such a youthful defendant.
The documents charging Wilson include two punishment enhancement paragraphs. Prosecutors are seeking to enhance Wilson's punishment by up to 15 years for use of a firearm. Any term imposed for use of the firearm must be served consecutively to any term assessed for the underlying crime.
Prosecutors are seeking to enhance Wilson's punishment by up to 10 years for committing the crimes in the presence of a child. Any term imposed for commission of a crime in the presence of a child must be served consecutively to any term assessed for the underlying offense.
Capital murder is punishable by life without parole or death by lethal injection. Attempted capital murder and aggravated robbery are both punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison. Aggravated assault is punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
Wilson is currently being held in the Miller County jail with bail set at $1 million. He is scheduled to appear next month for arraignment before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom in a Miller County courtroom.