Richard Lepri (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
The case of a man who fought with five law enforcement officers before being taken into custody was dismissed during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court on December 2nd.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Carter told the court that the state might refile the case at a later date.
Thirty-five-year-old Richard William Lepri of Flippin is charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental operations and interference with a law enforcement officer.
The incident began in the early morning hours of Oct. 26 when a Mountain Home police officer on his way to work heard a call for assistance at the Casey’s General Store located along Arkansas Highway 5 North.
Lepri did not obey the arriving officers’ commands to halt, walked into the store and went behind the counter. He was reported to have been yelling and refusing to comply with instructions.
More officers arrived on the scene. In all, five lawmen eventually responded to the scene.
The officers were able to get handcuffs on one wrist before Lepri started to resist. The officers and suspect all went to the floor. A stun gun was used, but Lepri continued to resist.
The lawmen were able to turn Lepri onto his stomach and another stun gun was used on him.
He continued to resist. The officers were finally able to secure Lepri, but he still managed to kick three of them during the scuffle.
The officers were then able to get leg shackles on Lepri and carried him to a patrol car.
Lepri was taken to the Baxter County Detention Center, but he was not done lashing out and had to be placed in a restraint chair.
It was not the first time Lepri had resisted efforts to take him into custody.
In early July 2020, a Marion County sheriff’s deputy and an officer from the Flippin Police Department were called to the Shady Oaks Apartment complex to deal with an “unwanted person.”
The caller was identified as Lepri’s girlfriend, and the “unwanted person” was Lerpi himself.
The girlfriend said what began as a verbal argument about how messy the house was escalated into a physical confrontation.
She told police that Lepri had punched her in the lip and grabbed her by the arm. Because she was afraid of Lepri, the girlfriend eventually said she went into the kitchen and got a knife.
The woman threatened to use the knife if Lepri did not get out of her apartment. She said she was able to get outside and called 911 for assistance.
Lepri showed the same reluctance to be taken into custody in the Marion County incident as he did at Casey’s General Store on Highway 5 North in Mountain Home.
He initially refused to obey the commands of the officers to come out of the woman’s residence.
He eventually exited the residence, came out and sat on the front porch and started to tell his side of the story.
When Lepri was asked to take a backpack he was wearing off, he refused and began to actively resist once again.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Lepri is reported to have tried to punch one of the officers in the face.
A stun gun was used on Lepri at that point, and he began to comply with the instructions he was being given.
At one point, an officer noted Lepri did not have any marks on his body that could have been inflicted by the girlfriend.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Lepri told officers there were no marks on his body as a result of the domestic altercation because of how tough he was.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI