Troy Holmes, 37, was fatally shot about 11 p.m. Saturday in his home at 7213 Stevenson Drive in a dispute related to custody of an infant. It was the 42nd Little Rock homicide of the year.

According to police, Shenell Holmes said two women came to her house with two men and one of the women said she was there for her child, an infant. After Troy Holmes went outside to tell them to leave, she heard gunshots. He came back into the house wounded and collapsed on the floor. Shenell Holmes began fighting with the child’s putative mother, who came inside. One of the men hit Holmes on the head with a pistol in pulling her away.

Advertisement

During the dispute, a 14-year-old daughter of Shenell Holmes was shot in both legs, with a bullet passing through each thigh. She was treated and released from a hospital.

The four intruders fled. They attempted to take the child with them, but a resident of the home regained custody of the child. The child wasn’t hurt. Witnesses provided information about the suspects that led to the eventual arrest of Michael Mitchell, 18, on charges of murder and battery. The search for other suspects continues.

Advertisement

In a related incident after the shooting, police talked to a man at a Walmart after a report of a suspect running through the store with a baseball bat. The man, Roderick Gulley, told officers that the woman who’d gone to the Holmes’ house seeking a child was the mother of his child. Gulley and the woman had been in a disturbance at the Holmes house about two hours earlier. He said he ran from her when she pulled up in the Walmart parking lot with her sister and men matching the description given of those who’d been at the Holmes’ house during the shooting. He ran after he heard the man say on a cell phone, “Do you want me to get him now?”

In the earlier disturbance, Gulley said he was with his daughter and had asked the child’s mother if she could spend the night with him because she was to be leaving with her mother for California on Sunday. The mother objected. He thought they’d worked out an agreement, but when she came to the house to pick up some belongings, he said she pulled a knife and tried to take the child. Gulley said he eventually made her put the knife away and leave without the child. Police advised Gulley at that point if she came back “to lock the doors and call 911.”

Advertisement

50 years of fearless reporting and still going strong

Be a part of something bigger and join the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times. For 50 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been tackling powerful forces through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 email subscribers, it's clear that our readers value our commitment to great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating – as little as $1 –, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Take a stand with the Arkansas Times and make a difference with your subscription or donation today.

Previous article Jennings Osborne, gone but not forgotten at Florida Christmas time Next article Here’s a Sunday open line