Maumelle police are investigating a suspicious death in a neighborhood near Village Way, and they're asking residents to steer clear of the area while the investigation plays out. Officers say there is no threat to the public at this time, but people in the area may notice an increased police presence as the case develops.
According to KARK, the Maumelle Police Department confirmed it is investigating a suspicious death in the neighborhood, with officers responding to the area of Village Way. Police have not released details about who died, what led investigators to call the death suspicious, or when it happened.
Police Ask Public to Avoid the Area
Per the same report, the police department asked the public to avoid the location while the investigation continues. Officers also said residents could see more patrol activity nearby in the coming days as the case moves forward, even as they maintain there's no ongoing danger to the broader community.
The department has not said whether the case is connected to any previous incidents in the neighborhood, and no additional details about victims, suspects, or a motive have been made public as of Saturday.
Village Way Has Seen Scrutiny Before
Village Way has drawn police attention in Maumelle before, though it's unclear whether that history has any bearing on the current case. A separate report from KATV described authorities being called to 16 Village Way Drive around 8 a.m. on a Monday, where they found 24-year-old Dexter Williams dead in an empty whirlpool bathtub.
In that earlier case, KATV reported that Williams did not live at the home and had been visiting Brett Cummins, identified in the report as a 33-year-old local television meteorologist. The homeowner told police that the two men had fallen asleep in the bathtub late the previous night, and that Cummins woke up the next morning and discovered Williams' body. KATV also reported that alcohol and drugs were found in the home, and that police said they did not know the relationship between all the men involved.
Maumelle has also seen at least one other death investigated as suspicious turn into a homicide case. In February 2019, KATV reported that 19-year-old Anthony Thomas Jr. was found dead in an apartment at the Gables at Maumelle on Union Court, in a case police first classified as a suspicious death before ruling it a homicide. Police later arrested 19-year-old Jakobi Cortez Alston, who faced a first-degree murder charge in connection with Thomas's death, according to the same report.
Nothing in the available record ties the current Village Way investigation to either of those earlier cases. For now, Maumelle police are simply asking residents to give investigators room to work and to avoid the area until the suspicious death probe wraps up.
