As a Springdale woman remains in jail accused of shooting her husband in the face, supporters online are trying to raise $15,000 for the shooting suspect.
A funding page on the website GoFundMe called “Help Robin McWilliams” has raised $125 for Robin Phillips, who was arrested last week on suspicion of felony first-degree battery after allegedly leading police on a multi-day search.
Police said Phillips shot her husband James in the face with a semi-automatic pistol following an argument Nov. 29. She then cut her own neck with a knife, according to the Springdale Police Department.
Both were transported to local hospitals with serious injuries and later released, police said.
A warrant was issued for her arrest a few days later, but Springdale police could not find her. Authorities sought help from the public Dec. 11 to find Phillips. She was arrested by Rogers police on Dec. 13 following a traffic stop that stemmed from a tip police received about Phillips’ location, said Lt. Derek Hudson with Springdale police.
James Phillips has no charges pending against him, according to court records.
An online plea for money by the page’s creator, Alexandria Gonzales, states the money is needed for “lawyer fees for my sweet cousin Robin. She was recently involved in a horrible domestic violence case. In order to help protect herself, we need to raise money for lawyer retainment fees.”
Messages by 5NEWS to Gonzales have gone unanswered.
Phillips remains in the Washington County Detention Center on $250,000 bond, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities on Dec. 11 released a 911 call from the incident, in which police said the couple’s son reports the shooting. Phillips’ son can be heard on the 911 tape released by Springdale police begging his mom to stop and explaining the shooting to the dispatcher.
“That`s very tough. I don`t know, if that was me, I don`t know how I would do it. I’d feel very depressed,” Mayorga said about Phillips’ son making the 911 call.
Phillips is listed on LinkedIn and her Facebook profile as Walmart’s realty management coordinator at the company’s home office in Bentonville. Hudson said a police report shows she works at Walmart.
The incident resulted from an argument at 1407 Jennifer St., a Springdale police dispatcher said.
A 16-year-old in the house phoned police about 1:20 p.m. to report that two gunshots had been fired inside the residence, Hudson said. The teenager said the man and woman had argued and then went into a bedroom, where two shots from a handgun were fired, Hudson said.
James Phillips came out of the room with a gunshot wound to the jaw and collapsed on the floor, Hudson said. The woman, Robin Phillips, was found on the kitchen floor with a cut to her neck. A knife was on the floor next to her, the police spokesman said.
The teenager had knocked the handgun out of the woman’s hand before calling 911, police said.
Robin Phillips allegedly ran to the kitchen following the shooting while yelling that she was not going to jail, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She told responding medical crews that she cut herself on the neck on purpose, the affidavit states.
James Phillips was hospitalized at Northwest Medical Center-Springdale; his wife was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, police said. James Phillips was listed in critical condition at the time, authorities said. Robin Phillips was treated at an intensive-care unit, authorities said.
The residence belongs to Norma Beasley, whose mailing address is in Dallas, Texas, according to the Washington County website. It was unclear Friday whether Beasley rents the house to Phillips and his family.
Animal control officers arrived during the investigation and removed dogs from the residence, authorities said.
