Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – A Jonesboro man is being held on a $125,000 cash/surety bond after police said he threatened a woman with an AK-47-style firearm and fired shots near her home earlier this month.
On April 8, the victim told authorities that 21-year-old Latrelle Alexander Whitman was upset with her after discovering she was spending time with another man.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Whitman began texting the victim and told her he was going to shoot her. He allegedly added that she was going to “meet Drac,” shorthand for Draco, a manufacturer of AK-47-style firearms. The victim also received a video of Whitman brandishing a Draco-style weapon, and investigators later found multiple photos of him brandishing guns on social media.
The victim reported receiving additional text videos showing Whitman near her home on Santa Fe Circle. A short time later, approximately eight gunshots were heard in the area, and dispatch received multiple shots-fired calls.
A resident reported seeing a car pull in and out of a neighbor’s driveway around the time the gunfire occurred. The owner of that home told officers he did not know who the suspect was or why he was there.
The affidavit noted rumors circulating that Whitman was also involved in a dispute with other individuals in that neighborhood, which may have contributed to the incident. Court documents also show Whitman has prior felony convictions, including terroristic threatening and aggravated robbery.
On April 16, District Judge David Boling found probable cause to charge Whitman with:
- Possession of a firearm by certain persons/prior violent felony with a deadly weapon (Class B felony)
- First-degree terroristic threatening/threatens physical injury or property damage (Class D felony)
- Criminal trespassing (Class A misdemeanor)
In addition to setting a $125,000 bond, the judge ordered Whitman to wear a GPS ankle monitor upon release and to have no contact with any home in that community, which is located off of Nettleton Ave., west of Parker Road.
Whitman is scheduled for arraignment on June 26. If convicted on all charges, Whitman faces up to 27 years in prison and fines up to $27,500.
