Since 2019, criminal, civil and domestic relations cases have been filed by and against 54-year-old Jayson Cotter, a former Mountain Home gunsmith.
Cotter went before a jury on a set of charges in one of his open felony cases in Baxter County Circuit Court this week and the jury came back with a guilty verdict on only two misdemeanors – criminal trespass and third-degree battery.
More serious charges had initially been filed against Cotter, but the jury found him guilty of mainly “lesser included offenses.” For example, Cotter had initially been charged with residential burglary but the jury found him guilty of criminal trespass.
The jury recommended a fine of $2,500 on the battery charge and 90 days in the county jail on the criminal trespass charge and Circuit Judge John Putman accepted the panel’s recommendation.
The case before the jury this week stems from Cotter’s arrest in mid-October 2022. He was accused of allegedly entering his ex-wife’s home located along Combs Street in Cotter and fighting with the woman’s father and brother.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the male relatives had been staying in the ex-wife’s home for about a month to “protect” her from Cotter who had reportedly been sending threatening messages.
Cotter had been warned to stay away from the house by his ex-wife and law enforcement. It was reported that Cotter had never lived in the residence and had only been there once when his ex-wife was in the process of buying the property.
The ex-wife testified during the trial that she and Cotter remained friendly after their divorce, but the relationship began to sour with time.
She said she grew to distrust Cotter and feared that he was capable of carrying out the frequent threats he made.
The woman’s father and brother also testified regarding the altercation that took place in October 2022. The brother lived in a bedroom located in a walk out basement. The father had a bedroom upstairs.
The brother testified that his dog had “gone crazy, barking and growling” and he had come out of his bedroom and encountered Cotter. The brother said he told Cotter he was not welcome in his sisters house and that he should leave.
Cotter, however, did not adhere to the request. At one point, the ex-wife’s brother and father both became involved in fighting with Cotter. The altercation started in the walkout basement, continued up the stairs and on the first floor of the house. The son attempted to keep Cotter pinned down on the floor.
Tapes of 911 calls were played for the jury in which the father called for help from law enforcement and called back to ask that officers hurry. Cotter was named as the intruder in one of the calls.
The male relatives of the ex-wife said they had both hit and kicked Cotter because he continued to struggle after they had him on the floor.
The brother said he was anxious to get the situation under control because his 15-year-old son was on his way home from school and “I didn’t want him to walk into that situation and maybe get hurt. We needed to get the thing with Jayson (Cotter) stopped,” he testified. The sister had been at work that day and was not in the house when the fight occurred. She was bringing her nephew home from school.
When Baxter County sheriff’s deputies arrived, Cotter was arrested.
Defense attorney James Wallace told the jury the state had not met its burden of proof on the more serious charges and urged the jurors to acquit his client which they did on most of the original counts. He said his client had been “overcharged” given the nature of the incident.
Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism said the state had more than met its burden in showing Cotter had entered a home where he knew he was not welcome, ignored orders to leave and fought with the two male relatives of Cotter’s ex-wife who were there to protect her from Cotter. Chism told the jury that the lesser included offenses “don’t fit this situation at all” and denied the defense attorney’s claim that the charges against Cotter were too serious given what had happened.
Cotter said he was only at the house to see his dog. He had purchased the animal but the now ex-wife said she had cared for it for years and took it with her when the couple divorced.
She testified that before the incident in 2022, Cotter had called her about coming to see the dog and she had refused the request. “I did not trust him and would not feel safe with him in my house.”
ORIGINAL CASE OPENED ON COTTER
It has been more than five years since the original “gunsmith case” was filed in mid-August 2019.
Because of the length of time and the number of cases on the books, it is difficult to follow the twists and turns of Cotter’s involvement with the legal system since the original gun case was filed. In all, court records show that 16 cases, including criminal, domestic and civil, have been opened on Cotter or filed by him.
Many of the cases have been closed out.
THE BEGINNING
Cotter and his company – Investment Grade Firearms (IGA) — first came to the attention of law enforcement after he was alleged to have accepted guns, gun parts and partial or full payments from customers while doing little or no work.
An investigation was launched by the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office and later by the Arkansas Attorney General based on reports that had been submitted by customer from all over the county.
According to a news release from former Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, a suit was filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court against Cotter in 2019 for violations the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The court granted the state’s motion for relief and ordered Cotter to pay almost $180,000 in restitution and penalties.
There were 12 Arkansas customers “defrauded” by Cotter/d.b.a. Investment Grade Firearms, according to a news release Rutledge put out at the time of the court order.
WOULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH CUSTOMERS
Most of the customer complaints accused Cotter of cutting off all communication with them by not answering calls, texts or emails asking for updates on their guns.
The customer communications became more demanding as time went on and dealt mainly with accusations that Cotter was not returning money or weapons.
Many of the guns and gun parts were reported to have been returned to Cotter’s customers. The job was made somewhat easier when investigators found many of the guns and parts still in original packing material and showing return addresses.
A CLAIMED ATTACK
Cotter has claimed he was “jumped” by several people when he drove to a wedding venue to pick up his daughter and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He says he has suffered with mental problems associated with the injury since that time.
He did file a $3.5 million civil suit in 2019 but it was dismissed after requirements for serving parties named in the suit were not met.
During the life of the gun case, Cotter has been arrested and jailed for a number of other alleged crimes.
REMAINING CASES
His remaining open cases include one in which he was charged with breaking into a building on State Highway 5 North and removing items from the structure.
A Baxter County Deputy Sheriff responded to an active break-in call at the address. He reported seeing a black Mercedes sedan parked by the building.
A computer check was run on the vehicle and came back as being registered to Cotter.
As he was checking the outside of the building, the deputy reported hearing someone moving around inside.
He stationed himself next to the entrance door and confronted Cotter as soon as he emerged from the building.
Cotter is alleged to have said he had been given permission to be in the building to “retrieve” some of his property “because no one else would.” He said the door had been unlocked allowing him to enter.
Among the items Cotter had in his possession when challenged by the deputy was a guitar in its case, a flashlight and some tools.
The victim said he had been on the property earlier in the day of the break-in and that the door had been locked.
He said Cotter did not have permission from him to be inside the building and that he had informed Cotter of that fact.
The victim said Cotter told him he was gaining entrance to the building by crawling through an opening made to accommodate a window air conditioning unit.
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