Inset: Phillip B. Mink (Craighead County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Kroger where Mink allegedly tried to run down his ex-wife last week (Google Maps).
A 47-year-old Arkansas man is accused of following and harassing his ex-wife before trying to run her down in a Kroger parking lot as multiple police officers watched the scene unfold. Phillip Blake Mink was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder and one count of first-degree stalking, court records show.
Officers with the Jonesboro Police Department responded to a call at the victim's home on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 15, regarding a reported violation of a protective order. Upon arriving at the house, police spoke with the victim, who said her ex-husband, Mink, had defied a court order by coming to her home and repeatedly ringing her doorbell and banging on her windows in an effort to get her outside, Jonesboro Right Now reported.
The victim claimed Mink sent her several text messages because she refused to leave the home. Mink then allegedly drove away in a white Ford F-150, which police began searching for.
Later that day, the victim stopped a police officer near the entrance of the Kroger parking lot while she was on the phone with Mink, local ABC and NBC affiliate KAIT reported. The store is in the 1700 block of S Caraway Road in Jonesboro.
On the call, officers reportedly heard Mink shouting at the victim. While on the phone with the victim, officers allegedly spotted Mink traveling past the Kroger location "in the direction of the victim's address."
Police attempted to pull over Mink's vehicle, but he reportedly made a sudden U-turn, driving across a patch of grass and entering the Kroger parking lot.
"Mink began traveling at a high rate of speed in the parking lot toward the victim. Mink intentionally struck the victim's vehicle while she was sitting inside, causing a collision," police wrote in a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Jonesboro Sun. "Mink gets out of his vehicle almost immediately after and runs toward the victim's vehicle on the driver side. The officer on scene heard one single shot and Mink say, 'she shot me, she shot me.'"
While the victim did fire a warning shot as Mink approached her vehicle, he was not struck by the shot, police said.
In an interview with police, the victim admitted that she fired a single round "due to her being in fear for her life."
"Detectives recovered video footage of this collision that confirms the victim's statements," police reportedly wrote.
Mink was taken into custody at the scene and is currently being held in the Craighead County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
In addition to murder and stalking, Mink is also facing one count each of first-degree criminal mischief and violation of an order of protection. He is scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment on Feb. 27.
Follow Law&Crime:
Comments