HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – A 19-year-old already charged in connection with a drive-by shooting at a Hot Springs home with five children inside is facing eight new charges that accuse him of stealing vehicles and guns in August.
Lucas Cole Mays was charged Monday in Garland County Circuit Court with theft of property over $25,000, theft by receiving over $25,000, two counts of theft of property involving a firearm, two counts of theft by receiving involving a firearm, breaking or entering and fleeing on foot.
Mays and a 15-year-old boy were arrested Aug. 14 after a Garland County sheriff’s deputy stopped a silver Jeep Gladiator that had been reported stolen from Saline County the day before, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Cpl. Kevin Hampton was responding to a report of a stolen gas can in the Long Beach Terrace area shortly after 4 p.m. when he saw the Jeep run a stop sign, the affidavit said. The Jeep matched the description of the vehicle in the gas can theft and of one seen at a shooting on Lakesouth Terrace.
The Jeep pulled into a mobile home park on Highway 290. Mays, who was allegedly driving, and the boy got on the ground as ordered but then jumped up and ran, the affidavit said. Bystanders pointed the deputy toward the woods, where both were found about 20 yards in.
Near where the boy ran, deputies found a pair of slides and a magazine for a Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun. A sheriff’s office K-9 named Echo alerted to a fallen tree stump, where deputies found a Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol in a pink holster and a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol with no magazine, the affidavit said.
The Sig Sauer had been reported stolen in Saline County. The Hellcat’s owner later reported it had been taken from the center console of his vehicle, the affidavit said.
The Jeep, valued at $50,000, had numerous gas cans in the bed and an “overwhelming smell of gasoline” inside, the affidavit said.
Investigators also tied the pair to the theft of a 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser valued at $40,000 from a home in the 5300 block of Central Avenue on Aug. 13. A .32-caliber revolver was inside the Land Cruiser when it was taken, the affidavit said.
A neighbor gave investigators video that showed two males walking up her driveway at about 12:12 a.m. and trying the door handles on every vehicle. They found her husband’s truck unlocked and began ransacking it, according to the affidavit.
“I found a gun,” one of them can be heard saying on the video, the affidavit said.
The two then ran toward the home next door, got into the Land Cruiser at about 12:16 a.m. and drove off toward Hot Springs, the affidavit said.
During interviews, both allegedly admitted stealing the Land Cruiser and a 9 mm handgun. They also allegedly admitted “being involved in multiple breaking or entering, stealing at least 3 motor vehicles, and committing multiple shootings throughout Garland County, Saline County, and the City of Hot Springs,” the affidavit said.
The stolen .32-caliber revolver was found in a black backpack in the back seat of the Jeep when investigators searched it with a warrant. The Land Cruiser was found abandoned with its doors open Aug. 15 near the Hot Spring County Fairgrounds. A spent 9 mm shell casing and a magazine for a .22-caliber firearm were inside, the affidavit said.
Mays was charged last month in a separate case with committing a terroristic act, second-degree unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle and first-degree criminal mischief in connection with a shooting on Plateau Street in Hot Springs.
Hot Springs police responding to a ShotSpotter alert at about 4:08 a.m. Aug. 13 found seven 9 mm shell casings in the road and bullet holes throughout a house, including in the walls of a bathroom in the center of the home, according to a probable cause affidavit. A woman and five children ages 7 to 17 were inside.
Cameras in the area captured a Jeep Gladiator speeding away and recorded its license plate, the affidavit said.
Mays allegedly told detectives he was only the driver and did not fire any shots. He said a 14-year-old and the 15-year-old fired from the passenger side of the Jeep, the affidavit said.
Both juveniles allegedly told detectives that Mays fired at the house as well. The 15-year-old allegedly said he had “beef” with a teen who lived there, the affidavit said.
Prosecutors are seeking an enhanced sentence of up to 10 additional years in that case because the shooting was allegedly committed in the presence of a child. Mays pleaded not guilty Sept. 10 and is scheduled for a hearing Dec. 3, court records show.
Theft of property and theft by receiving over $25,000 are Class B felonies punishable by five to 20 years in prison. The firearm theft counts and breaking or entering are Class D felonies punishable by up to six years. Fleeing on foot is a misdemeanor.
Mays reported on a bail form that he is currently on probation.
Bond in the theft case totals $27,500, according to the charging document. Bonds in the shooting case total $250,000, jail records show. Mays has been held in the Garland County jail since Aug. 15.
Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence filed the new charges. The public defender’s office represents Mays in the shooting case. An attorney of record was not listed Monday in the theft case.
Both cases have been assigned to Circuit Judge Ralph Ohm.
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