BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — A Pea Ridge man, who is a suspect in a Pine Bluff double murder, allegedly assaulted three Benton County Jail deputies on Dec. 23.
Matthew Ferry, 29, was arrested and charged with three counts of battery and impairing the operations of a vital public facility on the same day of the incident. He is being held on a $500,000 bond in the Benton County Jail.
During one of the detention facility's Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) operations to find narcotics, Ferry is accused of injuring three deputies, according to the probable cause affidavit filed on Dec. 27.
Documents say Ferry told deputies he needed to use the restroom. He was allowed, but the deputies said Ferry was ordered not to flush after he was finished. Ferry allegedly threw something in the toilet and flushed it. The deputy who escorted Ferry to the bathroom then gained control of Ferry and placed him in handcuffs.
After being handcuffed in the bathroom, Ferry was escorted by three other deputies to a cell, the affidavit says. One of the deputies took the handcuffs off of Ferry. Once both of his hands were free, Ferry allegedly elbowed the deputy in the jaw and punched another one in the head twice.
According to the affidavit, the deputy who was punched eventually subdued Ferry on the ground. However, Ferry "continued to punch at the deputies with a closed left fist." He eventually punched a third deputy.
One deputy "delivered multiple closed fist strikes to Ferry's head," the document says. Ferry was then restrained in handcuffs and told the deputies, "I'm done, I'm done."
According to the affidavit, two of the three deputies were sent to the emergency room to receive medical treatment and have been released. One deputy had a "swollen jaw with red marks on his face," another deputy had "red marks behind each ear," and the deputy who did not receive medical attention had a red mark on his left forearm.
Ferry will appear in court for allegedly assaulting the deputies on Jan. 22, 2024.
In September, the Pine Bluff Police Department had put a warrant out for Ferry's arrest for the deaths of Samuel Stenberg and Courtney Clary in Pine Bluff. He is also facing charges for possessing a firearm by certain persons in Jefferson County.
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Benton County Circuit Court on Oct. 30, a citizen from Rogers called the Rogers Police Department (RPD) with a tip on where they could find Ferry after his arrest warrant was issued.
RPD located Ferry and arrested him in Rogers on Sept. 28. When law enforcement arrested Ferry, they also found a handgun on him, the affidavit says. Due to this discovery, Ferry was charged with possession of firearms by certain persons in Benton County as well.
Ferry's court date for the double-murder trial will be on April 24, 2024.
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