Sebastian County prosecutor Daniel Shue issued a press release on Friday exonerating a Fort Smith man in the use of deadly force in a shooting that occurred during a home invasion on February 3 just off Grand Avenue. In a five-page document released Friday morning, Shue said that under Arkansas law and given the circumstances of the incident, Avelino Hernandez was fully justified and protected under Arkansas state law in the shooting death of Jacob Webb, who police say forced his way into the man's residence in the early morning hours of February 3. Jimenez reported that Webb rushed through his door holding a knife and Webb told him that he was "going to kill him" then attacked him with the weapon. Jimenez grabbed Webb by the arm that held the knife and they fell to the ground struggling. Webb stated and then they stated he was able to free himself out from under Webb, got up, pulled his concealed weapon, and shot the intruder one time in the chest. Webb was also involved in another altercation approximately 20 minutes before the deadly shooting when he attacked another man that he worked with in his home about five blocks away from the shooting scene. Webb was estranged from his own father, who told police he had not spoken with his son in a couple of years because Jacob Webb had attacked him and was arrested for the incident.
Webb's autopsy showed he died of a gunshot wound to the chest which entered the upper right lateral chest and did not exit. His toxicology report showed he was positive for cannabis at the time of the shooting Shue said considering the totality of the evidence and the information surrounding the incident that Jimenez has was justified in using deadly force to stop a perceived threat against his life.
