Two Little Rock brothers who police say are connected to several incidents of gun violence over the past few years were charged Thursday in the February shooting death of a man.
Dijuan Thomas, 19, and James Thomas, 21, were each charged with capital murder in the slaying of Jon Allen. Officers responded Feb. 6 to the 5800 block of Stagecoach Road and found Allen shot inside his vehicle. He was taken to Baptist Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He was 29.
Circumstances of the slaying remained unclear Thursday. A witness saw Allen slumped over in his vehicle after it had left the roadway and struck some bushes about 10:19 p.m., according to a police report.
The witness performed CPR on Allen until police and medical personnel arrived.
Police spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said, "Information provided to detectives allowed them to charge the [Thomas] brothers." The brothers were already being held in the Pulaski County jail after their arrests on unrelated charges earlier this year.
James Thomas, also known as "Paco," was arrested July 29 on charges of aggravated robbery and theft of property after his neighbor was robbed at gunpoint. Police reported that two men entered the neighbor's home and threatened to shoot her before taking a cellphone and several pairs of shoes. James Thomas lives at 5805 Stagecoach Road, the same block where Allen was found shot.
Dijuan Thomas was arrested March 11 and charged with terroristic threatening. Court records show he pleaded guilty the next month.
Details on the case were unavailable Thursday.
Police investigated two shootings involving Dijuan Thomas in October 2012. He was shot in the ear after an argument with a woman who had "snitched" about a murder, police reported.
A large group showed up at the woman's home the next day to fight her. During the confrontation, a woman driving in the area was struck by a bullet. Dijuan Thomas was not charged in the incident, which witnesses told police was gang-related.
Both brothers were involved in a gang-related shootout at Colonial Parc Apartments in January 2012, according to police. They were among four people who were shot.
Police reported that the two were with a known member of a Bloods gang sect, Kyted "Lil Ted" Jefferson, when their group exchanged gunfire with another group. Neither of the Thomases was charged in the gunfire.
The brothers remained in the Pulaski County jail late Thursday in lieu of bond.
Metro on 09/19/2014