Trial for man charged with murder continued

A man charged with murder appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division on Monday.
Forty-four-year-old Dusty Wheeler was set to go to trial this month but his lawyers – Ben Gibson and Ben Burnett – asked for a continuance until March 9.

Gibson said additional evidence had become available and the lawyers needed time to check it out before going to trial.

Wheeler is free on a $500,000 bond written by Triple R Bail Bonds. He is required to live with his mother in the small town of Newark and to wear an ankle monitor.

Wheeler was arrested June 14, 2024, after Mountain Home Police were called to a residence along Sunny Ann Lane about 6 a.m. and found a woman sitting in a lawn chair outside the house.

The victim, identified as then 36-year-old Heather Bradford, was reported to be cold and showing no cardiac rhythm when Baxter Health paramedics arrived on the scene.

She was said to have been shot in the head. An entry wound was found on the top left side of the victim’s head behind her ear and an exit wound located on the bottom right side of the head behind the ear.

Wheeler, who was found inside the residence asleep on the couch, was arrested and charged with first degree murder. He has pled not guilty.

The subject of bond for Wheeler has come up several times during sessions of Baxter County Circuit Court. One of Wheeler’s attorneys, Ben Burnett, filed the original motion for a bond reduction.

In earlier court sessions, Circuit Judge John Putman did reduce the bond from $1 million to $500,000 but turned down a defense request for a further reduction to $250,000.

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