Details Behind Brimhall’s Arrest Revealed in Newly Released Records

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Jonesboro Police Department released the incident report (again) and probable cause affidavit related to the arrest of Doug Brimhall to NEA Report on Tuesday afternoon.

In the PC affidavit, it states that Jonesboro officers were advised of a domestic incident on May 4, 2024 that had occurred on May 3 on Prestwick Circle. Officers were told that on that night, Douglas Brimhall arrived back from the Jonesboro Country Club intoxicated.

The affidavit says that Brimhall proceeded to walk into the alleged victim’s room where he laid next to the victim and attempted to wake her up. The victim, his 16-year old daughter, became angry at Brimhall for waking her and a verbal altercation then occurred.

The incident escalated when Brimhall allegedly dumped a bottle of water onto the victim, berating her and then leaving the room. Due to this, Brimhall’s wife left with a witness and the victim. Another witness also left the residence. Both witnesses’ names are redacted, so for clarity, we will refer to them as Witness 1 and Witness 2, as is done in the affidavit.

The two witnesses, the wife, and the alleged victim all proceeded to another residence. After staying for a while, the children became hungry and left. When returning, Brimhall’s wife reviewed cameras within her residence to see if she could see anything. After seeing nothing for several minutes, it was decided they would all return to the home.

Witness 2 arrived first and reported observing Brimhall outside, still in his underwear. Witness 2 stated that Brimhall started to approach her vehicle, so she again left. She called the victim and informed her not to come home. Witness 2 is advised that they need to get Brimhall back into the home. When Brimhall’s wife returns, she also saw Brimhall outside, the affidavit says.

That’s when things are alleged to have escalated.

According to the affidavit, Brimhall then proceeded to jump into his wife’s vehicle, breaking the front windshield. This scares witness 1, the front passenger, and a victim exits the vehicle, proceeding to throw a drink at Brimhall, resulting in a physical altercation.

The victim stated that Brimhall then grabs her by the arms and pushes her into the yard. Brimhall then places his right arm on the victim’s arm and his left hand around the victim’s neck, choking her. When being choked, the victim stated she could barely breathe and at one point, could not breathe at all.

When this occurred, the affidavit said both Brimhall and the victim fell to the ground with Brimhall on top of the victim. Brimhall’s wife then tells Brimhall to get off of her and go inside, which he does.

As authorities were investigating the state of mind Brimhall was in, they asked the witnesses and multiple said he was intoxicated, with one describing him as, “drunk drunk.” When officers asked Brimhall if he had drank too much, they were told “I don’t know, too much or not too much, I couldn’t tell you.”

During authorities’ interview with Brimhall, he confirmed a physical altercation took place but said he never choked the victim. He said he attempted to give the victim a “noogie” during the incident. But the victim received multiple scrapes and had bruising to her wrists and arms. Officers who took the report noted redness to the victim’s neck.

The victim told investigators she had seen Brimhall drunk before but never feared him – but this was different. This time, she feared him.

On May 20, 2024, Judge Robert Edwards signed the arrest warrant for Brimhall, who was allowed to surrender to police the following day (today) and immediately be released without bond. Judge Edwards set an OR (own recognizance) bond for Brimhall.

Brimhall faces charges of aggravated assault on a family or household member, a Class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison, and third degree domestic battering, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. However, Brimhall also faces a potentially favorable criminal justice system which could plea down these charges to a lesser charge.

His next court appearance is set for 8:30 AM on June 28, 2024 in Craighead County Courthouse.

Tuesday afternoon, May 21, Brimhall’s attorney Bill Stanley released a statement to NEA Report:

Since the onset, Mr. Brimhall and his family have fully cooperated with the authorities in this investigation. It is important to point out that the probable cause affidavit is the police’s version of the events. At this stage, the probable cause affidavit cannot be procedurally challenged even if we believe it to contain inaccuracies. Suffice it to say that Mr. Brimhall would never harm his own children, or anyone for that matter. We look forward to a swift and impartial resolution of this matter once the truth is revealed.

– Bill Stanley, Attorney for Doug Brimhall

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In addition to JPD releasing the probable cause affidavit following Brimhall’s arrest, they also finally released the version of the incident report that should have been released the day it was taken. This is the third version JPD has released to NEA Report and to other media outlets. In this version, the injury description to the alleged victim is visible – a portion previously redacted for unexplained reasons. JPD also unmasked the name of the suspect. Most of the incident report, including the investigative narrative, remains masked.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Read More:

JPD-Incident-24-04500_Redacted  | Brimhall PC Affidavit_Redacted