Photo: Austin Potts
An Oakland man’s original bond was revoked, and it was replaced with a $15,000 cash only one following a hearing in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
The original bond was posted after 23-year-old Austin Potts was charged with aggravated assault, second-degree battery and fleeing in Baxter County.
The case was opened in early September last year, after Potts made an effort to outrun the law on his motorcycle. During the chase, the motorcycle struck a Baxter County sheriff’s deputy sending him to the hospital.
A motion to revoke Potts’ Baxter County bond was filed March 2 based on a number of charges filed in Fayetteville against the Oakland man in February.
The charges in Northwest Arkansas — including aggravated assault, domestic battery, and false imprisonment — stemmed from an alleged physical assault on a woman with whom Potts once had a dating relationship.
According to probable cause affidavits, there were two separate incidents involving Potts, the woman and a member of the woman’s family.
One took place in a Fayetteville hotel room.
During the incident at the hotel, the female victim was reported to have been battered by Potts, held against her will, choked, head butted and shoved to the floor several times.
Potts is reported to have fled when police arrived in the parking lot, after being called by hotel staff.
Potts is also accused of attempting to run over the victim’s brother with his truck at one point in the ongoing fracas.
The local arrest came after a Baxter County sheriff’s deputy spotted a motorcycle pulling out of a closed access road in the Pigeon Creek Area of Lake Norfork.
The deputy attempted a traffic stop after seeing the bike’s taillight was not working.
The biker, later identified as Potts, refused to stop and a pursuit began. A second deputy became involved.
Potts stopped at one point, but would not obey orders to get off the bike and began trying to maneuver around a deputy.
A stun gun was used on Potts to no effect. As he was trying to get away, Potts’ bike struck a deputy, knocking him to the ground.
The deputy was treated for his injuries at Baxter Regional Medical Center (BRMC) and released.
The bike was next spotted on U.S. Highway 62B, where officers from the Mountain Home Police Department became involved in the chase.
Potts entered a subdivision near BRMC and traveled some distance without lights.
A sort time later, a man was spotted on foot near the hospital’s parking garage. He was detained and identified as Potts.
The probes from the stun gun were still attached to his clothing. He gave officers a fake name initially. The abandoned motorcycle was located near the hospital’s helipad.
At the time of the Baxter County pursuit, Potts was on probation on charges filed against him in Oklahoma in 2019.
The incident occurred at the Sunset Cove Marina on Lake Cobb where Potts, who was described as a contractor, was installing a new roof.
He is alleged to have become angry with two members of a college fishing team on the lake for a practice round. He told officers they were too close to the marina.
Potts is alleged to have thrown nails and screws at the college students and pulled down his pants before taking to the water in an aluminum jon boat and repeatedly ramming the teens’ bass rig, damaging the hull as well as the outboard and trolling motors.
Potts told investigators the teens had been disrespectful to the workers on the roof.
The teens denied Potts’ explanation as to what led to the boat-ramming incident. They said they had been obeying a sign saying no fishing was allowed within 150 feet of the marina.
As a result of the Aug. 27, 2019 confrontation, Potts was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and boating violations.
He was not immediately taken into custody. He was arrested in Marion County Nov. 7, 2019 for drunk driving and, according to court records, extradited to Oklahoma,
He was put on probation for five years. The probation was to be supervised until all fines, fees, court costs and restitution had been paid in full.
According to Oklahoma court records, after the sums were paid, Potts would remain on unsupervised probation for whatever remained of the 60-month sentence.
While being supervised on the Oklahoma charge, Potts was assigned to the Mountain Home office of Arkansas Community Corrections under an Interstate Compact Agreement.
According to electronic court records, two women have filed petitions seeking orders of protection to keep Potts away from them, including the victim of the alleged assault in Northwest Arkansas.
The victim lists her place of employment as being in Fayetteville and her home in Farmington. She asked that her petition be dismissed on Feb. 9, just about a month before Potts was arrested by Fayetteville police for assaulting her.
In the affidavit filed in the order of protection case, the woman says she came to Mountain Home to visit friends. She said she was at a local restaurant on Jan. 20 when problems developed.
She said Potts “showed up and insisted that I come out to his truck to talk to him.” She said she complied to avoid the possibility Potts would cause a scene.
When the victim got into Potts’ truck, she said he “started screaming at me” and drove away with her in the vehicle.
She said Pots punched her in the head numerous times. He is alleged to have taken her to his place of employment and told her to get out.
She said when she did, “he jumped out and threw me against the truck.” She alleged Potts shoved her to the ground, choked her and drug her back to the truck.
The woman said she had “no choice” but to ride back to Mountain Home with Potts but bolted from the truck at a stoplight, and a person picked her up.
The second woman went through with the process and did receive an order of protection.
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