FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — According to the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD), 20-year-old Dominic Heal has been arrested for the murder of Aveyun Smith, 22, at an apartment off Leverett Avenue in August.
According to police reports, officials believe that on Aug. 12, Heal and another unidentified male stole a white minivan from the driveway of a home on Mockingbird Lane in Fayetteville.
Three days later on Aug. 15, officers responded to a reported shooting, but the alleged victim, Smith, had already been transported to a nearby hospital where he died, according to police. 911 callers reported seeing two men, one of whom appeared to be bleeding, leaving the apartment complex in a "white four-door passenger car" police said.
On Aug. 17, investigators said they spoke with two witnesses who said they saw a white van drive through the apartment complex parking lot, then saw the same minivan driving north on Leverett before stopping.
The witnesses reportedly told police they saw a "green 'laser' from the minivan" point at Smith before several gunshots were heard. The minivan then drove north on N. Leverett "at a high rate of speed," according to witnesses.
Police said on Sept. 14, another witness told investigators that Heal had lent Smith a gun a few days before the shooting and that Smith "failed to give [Heal] his firearm back," which made Heal angry.
The report went on to say that Arkansas Game and Fish received a call on Sept. 23 about an abandoned white minivan near Bug Scuffle Road and Old Cove City Road, near Arkansas State Highway 220. The minivan was identified as the stolen vehicle reported on Aug. 12. The AGFC officer noted "the interior of the minivan appeared to have been set on fire, although very minimal damage had occurred," the report said.
Heal was arrested on Oct. 2 for breaking and entering and theft in a separate investigation. During a search warrant, police say they found a pistol with a green laser light affixed to it and the ammo matched the ammo found at the shooting on N. Leverett.
According to the report, Heal confessed to firing his gun out of the sunroof "toward" Smith on Aug. 15. He told police he was driving near Smith and Heal said he believed he saw Smith fire shots toward him. "As a response, [Heal] confessed to firing his gun ... toward [Smith]."
Police say Heal also admitted to leaving the van in rural Prairie Grove and lighting it on fire "in an attempt to hide evidence."
Police say Heal is facing multiple charges including first-degree murder and evidence tampering.
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