FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) – A Fayetteville man faces an attempted capital murder charge after police say he tried to stab an officer after being shocked by a Taser.
Jason Clampit, 34, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted capital murder of a police officer. He was apprehended while traveling to Dallas to evade arrest following the incident, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
An officer patrolling the area of the North Street Minimart in Fayetteville on Tuesday said he saw Clampit rummaging through the back of a white Ford pickup. As the officer pulled up, the suspect turned away and looked like he was breaking into the vehicle, police said.
The officer questioned Clampit, and the suspect began to run and reached for a knife in his shorts. The officer shocked him with a Taser and began struggling with Clampit on the ground, according to a preliminary report from the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.
The report states the suspect pulled the knife during the struggle and tried to slash at the officer. The officer disarmed Clampit and drew his pistol, police said. The suspect then dropped his knife and fled into a nearby creek bed. The officer did not follow, the preliminary report states.
Clampit was later arrested while traveling to Dallas, police said.
The incident comes less than a week after the suspect was arrested on suspicion of trying to stab an officer with a screwdriver.
Clampit was being investigated by the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force on suspicion of selling and distributing methamphetamine and marijuana in Northwest Arkansas. During the investigation, detectives used a confidential informant to buy 14 grams of weed from Clampit, according to a preliminary report.
On Aug. 8, authorities heard from a different confidential informant that Clampit was staying at a hotel in Fayetteville and had meth with him. Authorities located his room and saw him coming and going several times from the room with two other men, the report states.
Clampit and one of the men were seen loading bags into the back of the third man’s truck, and they all were getting ready to leave when a patrol car stopped the vehicle, according to the report.
Clampit refused to exit the truck when called to by authorities. He denied that he was under arrest. He was physically removed by a detective, and Clampit tried to kick, fight and bite the detective. After a few minutes of fighting, Clampit was finally placed in handcuffs, but he continued to kick and bite. While being searched, Clampit was able to pull a screwdriver out of his pants and tried to stab the detective he’d fought with, the report states.
The weapon was taken from his hands, and he was finally restrained and placed in a patrol car, according to the report.
The passengers were also arrested, and officers found a box containing 22 bags of meth totaling 44.3 grams, 11.5 grams of oxycodone, a small amount of weed, scales, pipes and baggies, the report states.
None of the three claimed possession of the bag, but two of them were seen handling it before it was placed into the truck, according to the report.
The three suspects were arrested after the search was completed. Clampit is a convicted felon with a previous drug history and violent charges, including aggravated assault and second degree domestic battery, the report states.
Court records show Clampit pleaded guilty in 2009 to charges of possession of a controlled substance and violating parole. He received a three year prison sentence, with an additional three years suspended, according to court records.
Clampit also pleaded guilty in 2008 to a domestic battery charge in exchange for a separate aggravated assault charge being dropped. He was sentenced to three years in prison, with an additional three years suspended, records show.
The suspect also received a sentence of three years probation in connection with a 2006 case in which he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
