Paris arrested in Garland County

According to Garland County Sheriff's Office, a local man was arrested early Thursday for allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend who ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

Gerald Danny Paris, 56, of 360 Lakeland Drive, was taken into custody at his residence shortly after 1:30 a.m. and charged with third-degree domestic battery, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and/or $1,000 fine.

He was being held without bond and is set to appear March 20 in Hot Springs District Court.

According to reports, Garland County Sheriff’s deputy Elwood McConnell responded to a 911 call about a disturbance at the residence and spoke to the neighbor who met him in the driveway.

The neighbor told the deputy the victim, 52, was in his house and McConnell went in and spoke to her, noting she had visible injuries, including a cut above her left eye, bruising and swelling to her right eye and red marks on both sides of her neck.

The victim, who was crying, stated her boyfriend, identified as Paris, had been drinking and started cursing at her and pushing her around. Then he punched her in the face so she tried to get away, running outside. The suspect caught her and took her back inside and punched her in the face again.

She was finally able to get away and ran to the neighbor’s house where he let her in and called 911.
Paris was taken into custody without incident and claimed the victim “stabbed me in the head,” but the deputy noted there were no signs of any injury to the suspect.

The report notes LifeNet responded and checked on the victim, but she declined to be treated or transported to a hospital.