A felon on probation who shot at three local men, killing one, during a confrontation in July was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to multiple charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Christopher Dean Harnar, 26, who has remained in custody since his arrest July 4, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, reduced from the more serious charge of second-degree murder, for the shooting death the night before of James David Allen Echols, 27, of Hot Springs, and was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in prison.
Harnar also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by certain persons and was sentenced to 20 years, and to five counts of aggravated assault and was sentenced to 12 years on each count, the maximum, with all the sentences to run concurrently. Any court costs were expunged for time served since his arrest.
Harnar was originally charged with two counts of aggravated assault stemming from the two other men he had fired at but Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro noted Tuesday they added three more counts because of three children that were in a car down the street when he opened fire. She said a permanent court order barring him from contact with any of the children was also issued Tuesday.
Petro said the family of Echols approved the plea offer before Tuesday's hearing. She said Harnar had claimed self-defense in the incident and while "there was some evidence to support that argument," he "excessively fired his gun."
She said the self-defense argument would not apply to a manslaughter charge and "we felt we could prove manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt."
The range of punishment Harnar faced on each charge was increased because he is classified as a habitual offender. He was previously convicted in 2011 in Ouachita Parish, La., of a felony count of attempted possession of meth, and in 2018 in Clark County of a felony count of theft by receiving over $1,000. He was still on probation from the 2018 conviction.
According to affidavits in the case, on July 3, shortly after 10 p.m., Hot Springs police responded to 333 Cooper St. to a report of a shooting and upon arrival located Echols lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to his chest. LifeNet personnel arrived and determined Echols was deceased.
Officers spoke with witnesses who said Echols got into an altercation with a man, later identified as Harnar, in the roadway at the intersection of Cooper and Hobson Avenue. They said Harnar pointed a handgun at Echols and fired several rounds, striking Echols, who then ran into his residence at 333 Cooper where he collapsed on the floor.
The next day, a witness, 31, told police he was sitting on the porch of his nearby residence and saw the shooting. He later reportedly picked Harnar out of a photo lineup and identified him as the man he saw shoot Echols.
That same day, another witness, 40, came to the police department and told Detective Mark Fallis he had gone to a residence at 304 Cooper St. to make contact with a female friend. He said the friend was not there, but he encountered a man, later identified as Harnar.
As he was speaking with Harnar, another man, 35, he knew as Jimmy arrived. The witness said he and Jimmy were speaking to Harnar through a bathroom door and Jimmy told Harnar he needed to leave. At that point, Harnar opened the bathroom door and pointed a handgun at the witness and Jimmy.
He said he and Jimmy "backed off" and Harnar left the residence walking toward Hobson. He said Jimmy got into his truck and drove to the house on the corner of Cooper and Hobson and parked in the yard. The witness said he started walking toward Hobson and saw Harnar standing in the middle of the road in front of 333 Cooper causing a disturbance.
The witness said "numerous people confronted Harnar at which time Harnar brandished a handgun and started waving it around causing all individuals to flee." At that point, Echols ran out of the house at 333 Cooper and confronted Harnar along with Jimmy, both standing on the corner opposite of Harnar.
The witness said Harnar pointed the gun at him, firing twice, and then turned the gun toward Jimmy and Echols and "fired several times." Echols was hit and retreated back inside his residence where he collapsed. The witness said he ran to his apartment where he told someone to call 911 and then he went back to the scene where he talked to police.
Officers later went to a vacant residence at 1803 Hobson where they had learned Harnar, who was reportedly homeless at the time, was staying. Once there they spotted Harnar inside and ordered him to come out and he complied.
After being read his rights, Harnar admitted to shooting Echols and said the handgun used was inside the residence on Hobson "underneath the bed he was sleeping on." Police were unable to contact the owner of the residence at that time.
Harnar was initially held on a $250,000 bond but Garland County District Court Judge Ralph Ohm increased it to $350,000 after his arraignment in district court on July 5. The case was later filed in circuit court where Harnar pleaded not guilty to the charge on Sept. 3. Prosecutors filed a motion classifying him as a habitual offender on Nov. 6.
Local on 12/12/2019