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Suspect in Fort Smith slayings has mental health history

Times Record - 9/27/2018

Sept. 27--Lewis Coleman Shores was twice ordered for involuntary commitment to a treatment facility in 2018 before police listed him as a possible homicide suspect.

Shores, 19, of Fort Smith was arrested Sept. 5 as a possible suspect in the Sept. 4 double homicide of Jimmy and Norma Grubb. Sebastian County Circuit Court authorities in January and April issued orders for Shores to be admitted to an appropriate treatment center for mental illness, disease or disorder, according to court records.

Both petitions for involuntary commitment stated Shores was believed to be homicidal, suicidal or gravely disabled.

Shores on Sept. 5 was arrested after he wrecked a truck in the Booneville area and fled the scene the day prior. The vehicle registration listed a residence in the 7700 block of Hermitage Drive in Fort Smith, where police found the Grubbs dead with blunt force trauma to the head, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Shores' uncle on Jan. 23 submitted the first petition for involuntary commitment, alleging he was admitted to an emergency room after cutting his own hands. He was recommended for inpatient mental health treatment in Hot Springs, but escaped from the hospital before he could be taken there, the petition states.

"(Shores) has a history of drug abuse, has hallucinations and paranoia, and says that he needs help," the petition states.

The subsequent order remanded Shores to an appropriate treatment facility and said the facility needed to include drug and alcohol treatment.

The second petition for involuntary commitment, filed April 12 by a Sebastian County Adult Detention Center employee, alleged Shores was "not oriented to person, place and time" while in custody following his April 10 arrest on suspicion of public intoxication. The petition alleged he talked about Pandora's Box while in custody and that he has made previous suicide attempts.

"He has swung on a deputy while being in custody," the petition states.

The order that followed remanded Shores to the Arkansas State Hospital or another appropriate treatment center.

Sebastian County Prosecutor Dan Shue charged Shores with felony aggravated residential burglary and theft following his arrest. Police Cpl. Anthony Rice on Sept. 6 said investigators were still processing evidence in the case and that any other charges against Shores were pending.

Police Lt. Wes Milam on Wednesday said investigators were waiting for evidence from the crime scene to be processed by state crime lab personnel.

"As soon as we get all of that stuff, we'll turn the results over to the prosecutor," Milam said.

Police on Sept. 20 identified a body they found 10 days earlier at an apartment complex in the 8200 block of U.S. 271 South as Angela Shores, the mother of Lewis Shores. They were searching for Angela Shores on Sept. 6 in connection with the investigation, according to Police Department news releases.

Lewis Shores was held on Wednesday in the Detention Center in lieu of a $200,000 cash bond, according to arrest records.

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(c)2018 Times Record (Fort Smith, Ark.)

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