POCAHONTAS, Ark. — Newly obtained court records provide additional details into a weekend shooting in Pocahontas that left a man seriously injured and resulted in a felony charge against a 67-year-old suspect.
On Monday, District Judge Alex Bigger found probable cause to charge Robert David Grice, 67, with first-degree battery, a Class B felony. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or surety. Jail records show he has since bonded out.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the Pocahontas Police Department were dispatched around 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2026, to the 1900 block of Redbud Street in reference to a reported shooting. Dispatch advised that a subject had been shot in the leg and that the shooter’s location was initially unknown.
Upon arrival, officers were flagged down by a witness and located the alleged victim, identified as Teddy Martin, lying on the front porch of a residence with a gunshot wound to his left leg. Officers immediately rendered aid, applying a tourniquet to Martin’s upper left leg due to significant blood loss. The injury was described as a through-and-through gunshot wound to the left calf that required emergency medical treatment.
While medical aid was being provided, Martin identified the shooter as Robert David Grice and told officers the shooting occurred inside Grice’s residence at the 1900 block of Redbud Street. Martin further stated that after he was shot, Grice told him he was going to shoot him again.
Officers used patrol vehicles to set up a cover and containment around the residence and used a patrol vehicle’s loudspeaker to issue commands for Grice to exit the home. Grice complied and was taken into custody without incident.
During detention, Grice told officers that a woman named “Sarah” might still be inside the residence. Officers issued verbal commands for any additional occupants to exit, but received no response. Due to the violent nature of the offense and the potential presence of another person, officers conducted a protective sweep of the home.
During the sweep, officers observed a blood trail beginning near the living room area and extending toward the rear of the residence, which investigators said corroborated Martin’s statement that the shooting occurred inside the home. No other individuals were found inside.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Grice reportedly told officers that he and Martin were arguing when he retrieved a firearm to “intimidate” Martin. The affidavit says Grice stated the gun discharged while he was holding it and admitted the firearm was in his hands at the time it went off.
Detectives later obtained and executed a search warrant for the residence. During the search, officers located a loaded handgun concealed under the couch cushions. The firearm had a spent shell casing in the chamber and live ammunition in the magazine, with the hammer cocked. Investigators also located a wallet containing identification belonging to Grice and a prescription medication bottle bearing his name near the firearm.
Based on witness statements, the suspect’s admissions, physical evidence recovered from the residence, and the serious physical injury caused by the gunshot wound, investigators determined there was probable cause to charge Robert David Grice with first-degree battery.
- (a) A person commits battery in the first degree if:
- (1) With the purpose of causing serious physical injury to another person, the person causes serious physical injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon;
- (2) With the purpose of seriously and permanently disfiguring another person or of destroying, amputating, or permanently disabling a member or organ of that other person’s body, the person causes such an injury to any person;
- (3) The person causes serious physical injury to another person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;
- (4) Acting alone or with one (1) or more other persons:
- (A) The person commits or attempts to commit a felony; and
- (B) In the course of and in furtherance of the felony or in immediate flight from the felony:
- (i) The person or an accomplice causes serious physical injury to any person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; or
- (ii) Another person who is resisting the felony or flight causes serious physical injury to any person;
- (5) With the purpose of causing serious physical injury to an unborn child or to a woman who is pregnant with an unborn child, the person causes serious physical injury to the unborn child;
- (6) The person knowingly causes physical injury to a pregnant woman in the commission of a felony or a Class A misdemeanor, and in so doing, causes serious physical injury to the pregnant woman’s unborn child, and the unborn child is subsequently born alive;
- (7) The person knowingly, without legal justification, causes serious physical injury to a person he or she knows to be sixty (60) years of age or older or twelve (12) years of age or younger;
- (8) With the purpose of causing physical injury to another person, the person causes physical injury to any person by means of a firearm; or
- (9) The person knowingly causes serious physical injury to any person four (4) years of age or younger under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.
source: Justia
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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