Judge: Woman to be held without bail in capital murder case

TEXARKANA, Arkansas -A woman accused of shooting a Texarkana man to death in his apartment and stealing his truck last month is to be held without bail while her case is pending.

Mahogany Jashe "Jash" Palmer, 21, appeared Wednesday before Miller County District Judge Tommy Potter on charges of capital murder and theft of property over $25,000.

Potter ordered that Palmer be held without bail on the recommendation of Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell.

Palmer was arrested on the charges Tuesday.

Texarkana, Arkansas, police issued a bulletin last week identifying her as a wanted fugitive considered armed and dangerous.

Palmer is accused of shooting 40-year-old Ernest Jackson once in the chest in his unit at the Fox Creek Apartments at 4303 County Ave., according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account.

Jackson had not been seen since May 19.

Jackson was discovered May 25 in the stairwell of his apartment by an employee of the apartment complex. Members of Jackson's family contacted Fox Creek management after not hearing from him for several days.

A spent 9 mm shell casing was recovered from Jackson's bedroom and one live 9 mm hollow-point round was discovered next to his body. Jackson was found on his back, sprawled on the stairwell with his head at the "lowest elevation."

Texarkana, Arkansas, police investigators conferred with two of the department's patrol officers who had responded to a call at Jackson's apartment on May 17. Jackson had reportedly ended a romantic relationship with Palmer and wanted officers to assist her in leaving his residence.

At the time of the May 17 call, body camera footage captured images of Jackson's gray 2015 F-250 Super Duty truck in front of the apartment. Palmer allegedly told one of the officers that the truck belongs to Jackson and she is not permitted to use it.

Neither the truck nor the keys to it could be located at the time of the discovery of Jackson's body May 25. Video footage from a neighbor's personal security camera showed Jackson last entered his apartment May 19.

Investigators were able to determine where Jackson had purchased the truck in April and the dealership was able to provide GPS coordinates showing the truck was in Little Rock.

Investigators determined the truck had been towed from the 3900 block of Arch Street in Little Rock "from a stuck position, off the roadway."

Employees of East End Towing reported that a woman named "Jash" contacted the service for a tow on May 21.

Because she was allegedly unable to pay the fee, the truck was stored at East End Towing's storage yard. Using video footage from the front office of the towing company, investigators allegedly identified Palmer as the person in possession of the truck.

Palmer allegedly told an employee of the towing company that "it was her boyfriend's truck and that she was not supposed to be driving it," the affidavit states.

Information allegedly linking Palmer to a 9 mm pistol owned by a former boyfriend of her's was uncovered by detectives as well. The former boyfriend told investigators that Palmer visited him May 18 at his work at a recording studio in Texarkana and was allegedly upset about her boyfriend "kicking her out."

The man said he drove Palmer to Jackson's apartment that night to collect some belongings and that she took several bags that had been left by the front door.

Palmer allegedly returned to the recording studio at 8 a.m. the following day - the last day anyone saw Jackson. The former boyfriend said he and a friend were working on a car in the parking lot and when they came back inside the studio, Palmer was allegedly holding a 9 mm pistol, which was kept stored in a filing cabinet.

"Palmer then asked if the pistol would shoot and fired off a round," according to the affidavit.

The two men ran out the back door and began walking around shortly before seeing Palmer drive away in the car they had been working on in the parking lot. The pistol was allegedly taken as well.

Palmer allegedly promised to return the car and gun at a later time in text messages. Palmer allegedly left the car in the parking lot of a convenience store and told the owner where to find it later that afternoon.

Detectives allegedly recovered a spent 9 mm shell casing from the recording studio, which appears to match the one recovered from Jackson's apartment.

If found guilty of capital murder, Palmer faces life in prison without the possibility of parole or death by lethal injection.

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