From Police Report, Sharp County Sheriff’s Department
Local attorney and public defender Hollie Wilson, 46, was arrested following a physical dispute with her husband on May 19 at her home in Ash Flat. Wilson is a public defender employed by the Arkansas Public Defender’s Office for the Third Judicial District.
According to the police report, Sharp County Deputy Logan Powell responded to a possible domestic altercation at the Wilson residence on Peace Valley Road just after 9 p.m. Powell responded with Ash Flat Police Officer Wendall Lane. Wilson was in her vehicle with her daughter when they arrived.
Wilson was visibly distressed and told them her husband, Colton, had left the family home with the couple’s son. Colton was in the front yard, and the officers spoke with him after verifying the child’s well-being.
Colton was noted as being calm and composed and explained that the couple had a verbal argument earlier in the day about a phone conversation he had overheard. Wilson explained he left the home at that time and returned after dark. He explained that his wife was visibly agitated when he returned and told him she was taking her daughter to get food. After placing her daughter in the car, her husband said she returned and picked up their son, causing him to drop his sandwich and hit his head on the door. Mr. Wilson told police he grabbed his wife’s arm, only to restrain her from taking his son from the home, and out of concern for his wife’s emotional state and impending storms moving into the area. Wilson said the argument only escalated, so he called Officer Lane to help de-escalate the situation.
His son corroborated his father’s accounts of the incidents, but at times was reported to have seemed prompted. He did admit to his head being hit but said he was not injured.
Mr. Wilson provided police with several previously recorded altercations where his wife had become aggressive, including one with sounds of broken glass. The report indicated this was a pattern of this type of behavior in the home, with Hollie Wilson being the primary aggressor.
Officer Lane then relayed the conversation between himself and Hollie Wilson to Deputy Powell. Both accounts of the incident matched, with the exception that Hollie alleged her son hit his head, while her husband grabbed her arm.
After previously claiming to be taking the children to dinner, Hollie admitted she was in fact, taking the children to a hotel, something Lane said was inferred during his conversation with Colton during the argument.
Lane said that during the conversation, Hollie became increasingly agitated, while Colton remained calm and attempted to de-escalate the argument. Lane told Deputy Powell he felt Hollie was the primary aggressor.
Marks on Hollie’s forearm where Wilson restrained her from taking the child were photographed. Still, the police report indicated that, “Her actions created a reckless risk of injury for Mr. Wilson and, possibly, their children.” Powell went on in his report to indicate he felt the marks were a result of Colton’s attempt to restrain her, which was justifiable under the circumstances.
There was no visible mark on the child. The report also states that both parents used their children to support their accounts of the events. Based on the totality of the incident, Holllie was arrested and transported to the Sharp County Detention Center, where she spent the night in jail and was cited for the Class B misdemeanor charge of Assault on a Household or Family member in the Second Degree. She was given a June 5 court date in Sharp County District Court.
