MONETTE, Ark. – With the investigation closed, the records related to the shooting death of Steven Hunter Allen were released to NEA Report today (February 21).
The events in the report depict a different story from many of the unsubstantiated claims posted online. Detective David Bailey of the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, and reported that a review of messages, video, and phone logs of both Hunter and his wife, Ryann, supported Ryann’s accounting of events.
Ryann Allen stated that she and her husband, Steven Hunter Allen went to a SuperBowl party earlier in the evening and that both she and [Hunter] were drinking alcoholic beverages at the party. Mrs. Allen stated that someone at the party was giving her husband, [Hunter] moonshine shots and that Mr. Allen was extremely intoxicated. Ms. Allen stated that they left the party to return to their residence located in Jonesboro Arkansas when [Hunter] took the wrong exit. Ms. Allen stated that [Hunter] was mad and that she told him she needed to drive the rest of the way home. Upon arriving at the residence, Ms. Allen advised that [Hunter] began to choke her and throw her to the ground. This incident was captured on video surveillance at their residence. Ms. Allen stated that once inside the residence, the fight continued and that she struck [Hunter] numerous times in the face and he pushed her into an item in the residence causing her head to be cut open.
– Detective David Bailey, CCSO
Following these explosive events, Hunter left the residence. Ryann said she called her mother to look at her injuries. She later told a reporter she had suffered a concussion, in addition to a gash on her head. Her mother believed Ryann needed to go to the hospital, so she called her son to come watch the children. He, in turn, called her other son, Brett Williams, an officer with the Trumann Police Department and Ryann’s brother, to make him aware of what was happening. They met up at the residence on Friendly Hope Road.
Meanwhile, Hunter arrived at his own mother’s residence in Monette. According to what Hunter’s mother later stated when questioned, he arrived in a suicidal state, had a handgun, and was “very intoxicated.”
During this time, Ryann and Hunter were exchanging text messages. Ryann was contacted by Hunter’s sister, Shawna Wilson, who was worried about her brother being suicidal. She asked Ryann to contact Hunter, saying he had gone to his mother’s in Monette. Ryann also told investigators she was worried for Hunter because he started a new job the next morning. She told his family she was going to come to Monette to get him and her vehicle, which he had apparently taken. The decision was made for Williams to drive his mother and sister to pick up Hunter, because neither Ryann or Hunter were sober enough to drive.
Hunter’s brother, Cameron Cole, told investigators he was at the residence in Monette when Ryann, her mother, and Williams arrived to pick up Hunter. Cole told investigators that he had taken the handgun from Hunter, but Hunter had taken it back. After Ryann arrived, she took the gun and gave it to her brother, who Cole said popped the magazine out and cleared the chamber. Cole decided to leave at this point because everything appeared to be calmed down.
However, the situation escalated after Cole left. Officer Williams told investigators they were all inside of the residence of Hunter’s mother when Hunter struck Ryann in the face two times. Williams tackled Hunter in the living room and attempted to restrain him with handcuffs, “because of the domestic violence incident that he had witnessed.” Video shows a portion of the struggle. Detective Bailey noted it appeared Hunter was the aggressor in the footage.
After the struggle, Williams said he was pushed outside the front door and locked out while his mother and sister were trapped inside with Hunter. A short time later, the door opened and Hunter began fighting with Williams once again. Williams called 911 requesting law enforcement assistance. At this point, Williams drew his weapon.
The first deputy’s report began at 11:36 PM on February 11, when Deputy Paul Coffman was dispatched to County Road 506 to an address where a domestic disturbance was taking place. Dispatch told the deputy that Hunter had struck his wife, Ryann, in the face.
The report says Hunter continued to attack Williams, throwing a steel chair at him that struck him in the arm, causing injury. He also hit him with a wood swing attached to the roof of the front porch area. Williams was able to retreat off the porch and into the front yard area. Hunter then threw the steel chair at him again and began charging him, with the report saying that his exact quote was, “You better shoot me or I’m going to kill you.” Williams said he believed he was going to be hit again by the porch swing and he fired two shots in quick succession, hitting Hunter in the chest.
The report mentions Williams rendering aid. When Deputy Coffman arrived, he and a second deputy applied chest seals and a bandage to help control the bleeding. As is standard procedure, Williams was placed in the back of a patrol unit. At this point, Allen was breathing and conscious, the report says, but became unresponsive a short time later. Deputies began chest compressions and were able to get Hunter to briefly respond.
At that point, deputies had to check inside of the home after hearing shouting coming from inside. Apparently, family members were upset. Also, a dark colored F-150 arrived in the driveway, leaving deputies and responders confused. They identified the driver as Cameron Cole, who refused to leave when instructed. After being given multiple commands and still refusing, he was placed in wrist restraints before being released later in the evening without charges.
EMS arrived and began transporting Hunter to a Jonesboro hospital for care. However, he died from his injuries.
On February 19, Prosecutor Sonia F. Hagood wrote that Williams was lawfully present at the residence, based on the evidence, and was attacked by Hunter. Williams made several attempts to calm Hunter and subdue him and then retreated on at least two occasions, but, the prosecutor said Hunter continued the confrontation by fighting and throwing metal chairs at him at least twice. Based on those details and others in the investigation, the prosecutor said Williams was reasonable to believe his life and others’ at the residence were in danger of serious harm or death.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicide/mental health, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Hotline.
Ark. Code 5-2-607. Use of deadly physical force in defense of a person.
(Updated July 28, 2021)
(a) A person is justified in using deadly physical force upon another person if the person reasonably believes that the other person is:
(1) Committing or about to commit a felony involving physical force or violence;
(2) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force; or
(3) Imminently endangering the person’s life or imminently about to victimize the person from the continuation of a pattern of domestic abuse.
(b) A person is not required to retreat before using deadly physical force if the person:
(1) Is lawfully present at the location where deadly physical force is used;
(2) Has a reasonable belief that the person against whom the deadly physical force is used is imminently threatening to cause death or serious physical injury to the person or another person;
(3) Except as provided under § 5-2-606(b)(2)(B), is not the initial aggressor and has not provoked the person against whom the deadly physical force is used;
(4) Is not committing a felony offense of possession of a firearm by certain persons, § 5-73-103, with the firearm used to employ the deadly physical force, unless the person is in or at the person’s dwelling or in the curtilage surrounding the person’s dwelling;
(5) Is not engaged in criminal activity that gives rise to the need for the use of deadly physical force at the time the deadly physical force is used; and
(6) Is not engaged in any activity in furtherance of a criminal gang, organization, or enterprise as defined in § 5-74-103.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) “Curtilage” means the land adjoining a dwelling that is convenient for residential purposes and habitually used for residential purposes, but not necessarily enclosed, and includes an outbuilding that is directly and intimately connected with the dwelling and in close proximity to the dwelling; and
(2) “Domestic abuse” means:
(A) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault between family or household members; or
(B) Any sexual conduct between family or household members, whether minors or adults, that constitutes a crime under the laws of this state.
(Correction: An earlier version of this story cited Justia’s outdated statute for use of deadly force. In 2021, Arkansas became a “Stand Your Ground” state by revising the law to remove the duty to retreat.)
Read the next story in the series here:
A Widow Watched Her Husband Die. Then The Internet Accused Her of Murder.
SHARE THIS STORY WITH OTHERS:
Discover more from NEA Report
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Comments removed???