COLUMBUS, Ark. -- Special agents with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Arkansas State Police are investigating the shooting death of a Hempstead County man by a Hempstead County Sheriff's Office deputy.
At approximately 8:52 p.m. Thursday, the Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a house in the 2900 block of state Highway 73 in the Columbus community to serve a felony arrest warrant, according to a news release from ASP. Deputies contacted the subject of the warrant, identified as Randy May, 65, at the front door of his residence.
May was armed with a machete and charged deputies, according to a witness. A deputy fired his service weapon, striking May, who died at the scene.
CID agents will prepare an investigative file to be submitted to the Hempstead County Prosecuting Attorney, who will determine whether the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas laws, according to the release.