Barling man sentenced to 8 years for planning to carry out shooting at Fort Smith mall
FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A Barling man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison after he planned to carry out a shooting at Central Mall in Fort Smith, according to court documents.
Rodney Sheffield, 41, was sentenced on Tuesday for threatening a federal official and for having child pornography on his phone when he was arrested. He pleaded guilty to those charges in June.
Sheffield's eight-year sentence also includes five years of supervised release.
'The Court recommends that the defendant be a candidate for any drug treatment he may qualify for and that he be allowed to participate in mental health counseling/treatment while incarcerated,' the sentencing order said.
The Fort Smith Police Department said it responded to Central Mall for a 911 call where the caller said Sheffield was driving to the mall with the intent to carry out a shooting.
Fort Smith school bus involved in two-vehicle crash; non-life-threatening injuries reported
Officers made a traffic stop on Sheffield for driving recklessly near Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith. During the traffic stop, the officer noticed a rifle on the passenger side floorboard of the vehicle.
Further investigation showed Sheffield had a pending Social Security disability claim and was upset at the status of the claim.
A witness said Sheffield had gone to the building where the Social Security Administration offices were located and told him 'I've had enough, I can't take it anymore.' The person said Sheffield told him he was going to shoot the Social Security Administrative Law Judge.
Sheffield said he wanted to do this to 'teach the government a lesson,' a release from FSPD said. The person said he called 911 after speaking to Sheffield.
Police later searched Sheffield's phone. They found images and videos of child pornography including children as young as around five years old.
He was officially booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on April 27 and released on bond on May 9.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
18 hours ago
- Business Insider
AT&T says conducting investigation into claims leaked data is for sale
After Hackread reported that the previous leaked data of 88M AT& T customers now includes both date of birth and Social Security numbers, an AT&T spokesperson said in a statement: 'It is not uncommon for cybercriminals to re-package previously disclosed data for financial gain. We just learned about claims that AT&T data is being made available for sale on dark web forums, and we are conducting a full investigation.' Confident Investing Starts Here:
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two men charged with murder after teenager hit by car in Sheffield
Two men have been charged with murder after the death of a teenager in Sheffield. Abdullah Yaser Abdullah al Yazidi, 16, died after being hit by a car. He had only recently come to the UK from Yemen, looking "for a better future", his loved ones previously said. Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Amaan Ahmed, 26, both of Locke Drive, Sheffield, have been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder. They are due to appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Monday. 'Innocently walking down the street' South Yorkshire Police said Abdullah was "innocently walking" down a street in the Darnall area of the city, just after 4.50pm on 4 June, when a car collided with him. The force said they understood a grey Audi had driven towards three electric bikes, hitting one. As the car continued following the collision with the electric bike, it then hit Abdullah, police said. According to the force, the driver failed to stop at the scene. Abdullah was taken to hospital where he later died. The rider of the electric bike, 18, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital. Two people, a man, 46, and a woman, 45, who were previously arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, remain on bail. A 'kind boy' Abdullah's relative, Saleh Alsirkal, runs a corner shop that the teenager popped into just before he was hit by the car on Wednesday. "His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything," said Mr Alsirkal. Read more from Sky News: He said Abdullah was a "kind boy" who just wanted to look after his family, including his three sisters and was really enjoying learning English. "Every time he had a new word to learn, he was so excited about it," he said. "It meant a lot to him and he learned quick. Sometimes he would stay in the shop just so he could talk to people. He tried to be friends with everyone." "He wanted to be the main guy for the family. He was 16 years old, but he was a clever man," said Mr Alsirkal.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two charged for murder after death of teenager
Two men have been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after a 16-year-old was struck by a car which failed to stop at the scene. South Yorkshire Police said Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Amaan Ahmed, 26, both of Locke Drive, Sheffield, have been charged in relation to the death of Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi, 16. The teenager was walking along Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield on Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by a car. The force said it is understood that a grey Audi had driven towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
