BENTONVILLE (KFSM) -- A Rogers man pleaded not guilty Tuesday (Jan. 15) to killing a man in a Bentonville motel last fall.
Walter James Bryan, 18, is charged in Benton County Circuit Court with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, intimidating a witness and tampering with physical evidence.
Bentonville police said Bryan shot Tyler Garska in the head at the Super 8 Motel on Walton Boulevard on Nov. 20, 2018.
A housekeeper found Garska, 22, dead inside the room later that day.
One witness told investigators that Bryan broke down crying, saying he was going to tell police that he shot Garska. But the friends encouraged them to say that Garska shot himself instead, according to police.
Two witnesses said that Bryan later threatened to harm them if they said anything to police about what happened, according to police.
Bryan is being held at the Benton County Jail on a $1 million bond. His next hearing is Feb. 26.