CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Crawford County Sheriff's Office said a neighbor heard gunshots on the morning of Sept. 12, 2014, the day David Jackson was found dead outside his Bidville home, in the northeast corner of Crawford County.
"We did go door-to-door. We did have one witness that felt like earlier that morning they heard a few gunshots,” Sheriff Ron Brown said. “But again, this is a very rural area. [The witness] didn't know if someone was target practicing or what have you.”
Brown said Jackson, a former Sebastian County Deputy, was shot and killed in his driveway.
"At this time we're confident it's a homicide,” Brown said. "It's definitely not a self-inflicted wound."
Brown says Jackson’s wife wasn't at home that morning and tried to call her husband 12 times but he didn't answer. That’s when she asked a neighbor to check on him.
"She pulled up to him, hollered his name [and] he was unresponsive. She didn't have any phone or anything on her so she left [and] went back to her residence, which was down the road,” Brown said. “And I believe [she] got her cell phone and called 911 and returned back to the scene.”
Brown said it appears Jackson died from the gunshot wound. He is waiting on an autopsy report to confirm that and determine if Jackson was shot more than once.
The sheriff said he expects the preliminary autopsy results as early as Tuesday (Sept. 16). Brown also said a weapon was not found at the scene.
Sgt. Mark Abshere worked with Jackson at the Sebastian County Sheriff’s office for several years, and they were friends for about 14 years.
"I consider each and every person here my brothers and sisters that work here at the office at the Sheriff's department,” Abshere said. “But, Dave was special to me. He was like my actual brother.”
Jackson was a jailer and patrol deputy at the detention center. Abshere said Jackson trained him when he first started working at the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, but he was much more than a mentor.
"Dave was a great friend. He was very giving to those people that he knew, and to those people that he didn't know. He was a great deputy also,” Abshere said.
Abshere said Jackson’s death shocked the employees at the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office.
"We all want the family to know that we are here for them if they need anything,” Abshere said. “And that the Sebastian County Sheriff's office is a family. We love Dave, and we love his family."
Neighbor Ernestine Shepherd lives down the street.
"When I went to bed last night (Sept. 12) I laid my head on my pillow and I started crying and I said, 'Lord help those people,'" Shepard said. "It must be such terrible, terrible news to know that your family's been shot."
