Man charged with threatening city committee member

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ark. (KAIT) - A Lawrence County man with a history of run-ins with city officials faces charges after police said he threatened a city committee member.

A judge found probable cause to charge Lucas Peppers of Walnut Ridge with second-degree terroristic threatening and issued a warrant for his arrest.

The charge stems from a Sept. 13 incident at the Hoxie City Hall.

William Watkins, a member of the city’s zoning and planning committee, told police Peppers was “being aggressive and stating that the people outside the city hall [were] too close to the building to be smoking and had to be 20 feet from the structure.”

Watkins said he walked to the door and paced the 20 feet from building.

As he was counting the steps, Watkins told investigators Peppers “stepped in front of him and put his camera in his face.”

According to the court documents, Peppers told Watkins “to get out of his personal space or there would be dire consequences.”

“Mr. Watkins asked if Mr. Peppers was threatening him, to which Mr. Peppers responded it was a promise,” the affidavit said. “Mr. Peppers advised that he knew who [Watkins] was and where he lived.”

Watkins told police he felt threatened and was worried about what Peppers might do.

Second-degree terroristic threatening is a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail.

Last month the city of Hoxie implemented a partial city hall lockdown after Peppers accused Mayor Dennis Coggins of trying to hit him with his pickup truck.