It appears that a 40-year-old Fort Smith woman will suffer little or no punishment in connection with the shooting of a Sebastian County animal shelter employee. last August according to court proceedings in Sebastian County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
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Erin Elizabeth Scholtes, who was arrested August 13, 2021 after she shotgunned Charlie Scott of the Artemis Project in Hackett, got the "rare" dispensation in the afternoon session of circuit court on Wednesday. Scholtes was the last called case on the docket.
Police arrived at the Hackett rescue to on there day of the incident find Scott had been shot in the arm and he was transported to a Little Rock hospital for surgery on his arm and shoulder that same day. She was charged with Battery in the First Degree/Serious Injury.
She was released on a $75,000 legally sufficient bond at that time and entered an Act 346 guilty plea in court on Wednesday. That plea, also known as a "First Time Offender Plea" is way to enter a plea of guilty or no contest and then after a period of probation, have the charges dismissed and expunged under the special circumstance.
If you comply with probation conditions and complete the proper filing procedures the judge has to dismiss and expunge charges after declaring you "not guilty".
Scholtes pled guilty to Battery in the First Degree with a Weapon.
