An El Dorado man is being held in the Union County jail without bond on several felony charges that include capital murder and kidnapping in connection to the fatal shooting of his estranged wife.
Robert A. Courtney, 58, made his first appearance Wednesday in 35th Judicial District Court, a day after he allegedly kidnapped 50-year-old Sheila Jones-Courtney at gunpoint from a local, family-owned business and led law enforcement officers to her body after he was apprehended hours later.
The incident unfolded just after lunchtime Tuesday and involved several law enforcement agencies, including the El Dorado Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Ashley County Sheriff’s Office and Arkansas State Police.
At 1:11 p.m. Tuesday, El Dorado police responded to an initial call about a welfare concern at CornerPost, a packing, shipping, printing and business service store at 1205 E. Main.
Owner Chris Jones told police that Robert Courtney, his stepfather, had rushed inside the business with a large handgun and forced his mother, Sheila Jones-Courtney, inside the couple’s vehicle, a Dodge Challenger.
Jones said Robert pointed the gun at him and his mother and said, “We are doing this now. Get in the car and if I see a cop, I’ll kill her.”
Robert also struck Sheila’s cellphone with the gun and left the phone inside the store, Jones said.
After forcing Sheila inside the driver’s seat of the car, Robert ordered her to drive away, Jones said.
He told police that the pair headed east on East Main.
Police said the incident was captured on the surveillance video/security system of a business nearby.
Officers said they towed Robert’s Ford pickup truck from the scene and during a search, they found another handgun inside the truck.
Jones provided officers with information about property that Robert owns on Caledonia Road and Pine Crest Lane, both outside El Dorado city limits.
He also said that prior to marrying Jones’s mother, Robert lived at a residence in the 2000 block of Wingfield Lake Road, just south of El Dorado.
El Dorado police then enlisted the help of the Union County Sheriff’s Office to track down Robert and Sheila.
EPD officers also spoke with Robert’s two daughters, one of whom, Madison Williams, said she had last spoken with her father two weeks ago.
In a press release, the UCSO said it joined in the search of Robert and Sheila after being notified by the EPD.
Capt. Jeff Stinson, of the UCSO, said sheriff’s deputies visited the addresses of the properties that were cited by Jones and “hit every back road that we could think to hit.”
Stinson said the mobile home at 2033 Wingfield Lake Road was on fire when they arrived at the location and the Faircrest Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene.
He said the Junction City Volunteer Fire Department may have also assisted with the call. No one was inside the mobile home at the time and no injuries were reported.
Stinson said the mobile home was destroyed and the cause of the fire had not been determined by late Wednesday afternoon.
At approximately 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, the UCSO learned that the Ashley County Sheriff’s Office and Arkansas State Police were pursuing Jones in Ashley County near Crossett.
Bill Sadler, public information officer for the ASP, said Ashley County deputies initiated the pursuit after spotting the Dodge Challenger in the area and a trooper with the ASP Highway Patrol Division assisted with the traffic stop.
Robert was taken into custody a short time later without further incident and transported to the Ashley County Detention Center.
Upon learning that Sheila was not in the car with Robert when he was apprehended, UCSO investigators went to the ACDC to speak with him.
“He admitted that he had killed her and he told us that he would take us to where she was,” Stinson said.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, UCSO investigators recovered Sheila’s body from a wooded area near the Arkansas-Louisiana state line in Huttig.
She had been shot death.
Stinson said the body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for an autopsy.
He said investigators are still working to establish a motive for the incident, noting that the couple was estranged.
Robert faces felony charges of capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault on a family or household member, commercial burglary, felony with a firearm and interference with emergency communications.
He was ordered held in the Union County jail without bond during a first appearance hearing Wednesday in district court.
Robert was determined indigent and will be represented by a public defender.