February 11, 2011, at approximately 9:50 pm, the Baxter County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call at the Gaston Resort in Lakeview.  Corporal Eddie Elliott of the Baxter County Sheriff's Office and State Trooper Angela DeWitt arrived and found a male suspect in the lobby being detained by two employees.

     The investigation into the incident revealed that the suspect, 67 year old James Michael Sloan, of Holiday Island, Arkansas, was moving to the Salesville area in Baxter County, and had been a guest at the resort for several days. This evening, Mr. Sloan was in the bar area and became upset with one of the employees at the bar. After being asked to leave, Sloan paid his bill and left. Approximately 30 minutes later, Sloan came back and began arguing and making threats. Sloan was escorted to the lobby area and asked to leave by employee, Troy Campbell, who works as a bartender at the resort. Sloan head butted and began fighting with Mr. Campbell. During the struggle Sloan pulled a loaded Smith and Wesson 380 handgun. A patron at the restaurant heard the commotion and stopped to help. The patron managed to take the gun out of Sloan's hand without it begin discharged. Sloan was then subdued until law enforcement arrived.

James Michael Sloan was arrested and charged with:

Aggravated Assault        Felony
Carrying a Weapon         Misdemeanor

     James Sloan was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center and is being held on bond of $50,000. He is scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court on March 3, 2011.

Sheriff John Montgomery