MAGNOLIA — HOT SPRINGS - On the Fourth of July at 10 a.m., officers with the Hot Springs Police Department responded to the intersection of Mica and Maiden streets, in reference to a welfare check on a car parked with a male subject inside.
Upon arrival, officers located a black male, later identified as 23-year-old Tristan Smith of Hot Springs (formerly of Magnolia) deceased from an apparent gunshot wound, according to a Tuesday press release from Cpl. Joey Williams, Public Information Officer with the Hot Springs Police Department.
On Tuesday, detectives with the Hot Springs Police Department arrested Christopher Gipson, 20, of Hot Springs for the murder of Smith.
Gipson was charged with capital murder, Class Y felony; aggravated robbery, Class Y felony; and theft-by-receiving, Class D felony.
As of Tuesday, he was being held at the Garland County Detention Center on a zero bond.
Smith grew up in Magnolia, played sports at the Boys & Girls Club and Magnolia Junior High before moving to Hot Springs.
Funeral services are pending with Reed Funeral Home of Magnolia.