City reports first killing of 2018

Sheriff's office: Victim, another man had been in altercation

January 6, 2018 at 5:20 a.m. | Updated January 6, 2018 at 7:57 p.m.

by Jim Williamson

Investigators, from left, Lt. Les Moody, Chief Deputy Mark Lewis and Sgt. Alan Keller discuss the shooting death of a man whose body was discovered in a backyard Friday afternoon near the intersection of Sugarhill Road and U.S. Highway 67. Two search warrants were going to be issued later Friday to allow the officers to continue the investigation.
Investigators, from left, Lt. Les Moody, Chief Deputy Mark Lewis and Sgt. Alan Keller discuss the shooting death of a man whose body was discovered in a backyard Friday afternoon near the intersection of Sugarhill Road and U.S. Highway 67. Two search warrants were going to be issued later Friday to allow the officers to continue the investigation.

A local man was shot to death Friday afternoon, and another man who lives nearby was questioned in the investigation.

Miller County Sheriff's deputies identified the deceased man late Friday as Marvell McFadden, 71, who died from a gunshot to the upper chest, according to a sheriff's office news release.

About 2:30 p.m. Friday, deputies were dispatched to a house near U.S. Highway 67 and Sugar Hill Road in response to a 911 call. On arrival, deputies found McFadden's body in the backyard. The house belonged to McFadden, according to the news release.

After the initial investigation, deputies questioned a man who lives on Sugar Hill Road about a half-mile from McFadden's property. The man and McFadden reportedly had been in an altercation earlier in the day.

No criminal charges were filed against the man. However, two guns were recovered, along with evidence at the crime scene location and the other man's home.

"We're in the preliminary stages of the investigation and interviewing people," Lewis said.

McFadden's body will be sent to the Arkansas State Police crime lab in Little Rock for an autopsy.

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