August 18, 2025
POPLAR GROVE, Ark. — On Sunday, August 17, 2025, at around 9 p.m., the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) responded to a domestic violence call in the 300 block of Phillips County Road in Poplar Grove. Upon arrival, deputies discovered one victim had been assaulted and sustained serious physical injury.
The suspect, Brandon Billingsly, 40, retreated inside the home when law enforcement arrived. The victim was transported to a Memphis hospital and is in stable condition. When deputies attempted to contact Billingsly, he fired multiple shots toward officers and barricaded himself inside the home.
PCSO requested assistance from the Arkansas State Police (ASP). ASP Highway Patrol units, Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), and SWAT members were deployed to the scene. Negotiations with Billingsly, conducted by the ASP CNT, lasted about 2 ½ hours before SWAT personnel arrived and issued repeated requests for the suspect to surrender.
After negotiations were unsuccessful, SWAT personnel deployed chemical agents into the home. At approximately 3 a.m., a single gunshot could be heard from inside the residence. A camera-equipped ASP robotic device entered the home and detected that Billingsly had died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound.
No law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident.
The deceased will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory to determine the official manner and cause of death.
ASP CID will continue to investigate the incident.