James Earl Simmons Jr., a 34-year-old White man from Fort Smith, Arkansas, was killed by a gunshot late on the night of November 10, 2021, at a residence in the 3200 block of Yearling Ridge Road, south of Boles in rural Scott County. Deputies from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office found Simmons inside the home after a call about an armed disturbance; he was taken to a Waldron hospital and later pronounced dead.

Special agents with the Arkansas State Police took over the investigation, questioned the homeowner about the circumstances, and sent Simmons’s body to the state crime lab for examination by the state medical examiner. Authorities said they would submit a case file to the local prosecuting attorney for review when the investigation was complete. No arrests have been reported, and the case remained unsolved as of the last public reports in November 2021.

If anyone has information about the armed disturbance or Simmons’s death, please come forward to local investigators.