CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Crawford County Sheriff's Office said the investigation into the death of David Jackson is the only homicide case from 2014 that has not ended in an arrest.
Sheriff Ron Brown said they do have a person of interest and are continuing to move forward with the case, one year later.
“We're going to get this person. And when they get there, they’re going to rot in prison and they're going to think about it every minute of the day -- what happened that morning,” David’s son, Wesley Jackson, said.
Jackson was killed in his driveway in Bidville on Sept. 12 of last year. Investigators said they found three gunshot wounds in his back.
“I do remember that day -- it was rainy and cold,” Crawford County Sheriff Ron Brown said.
David was a Sebastian County Sheriff's Office jailer and patrol deputy for eight years, and was a Marine in the Vietnam War.
Brown said his office recently went over the evidence with the county's prosecuting attorney and the Arkansas medical examiner's office.
Together they made a plan to go forward, and if any additional evidence is collected Brown said it will be submitted to the crime lab.
“We just felt like we had a couple of loose ends and we're just going to stitch them up and present it to the crime lab and move forward from there,” he said.
Brown said working with the state crime lab will take some time.
“This is not anything negative -- this is just reality. Our crime lab, the Arkansas crime lab in Little Rock, serves about 300 plus police departments in this state and 75 counties,” he said. “They’re very cooperative -- they work with us -- but they're busy.”
In the meantime, Wesley said he and his family are finding it difficult to imagine a future without David.
“Whenever I get married and have kids and stuff, I’m going to be on my own teaching them how to play t-ball, when I always hoped he would be there to help teach them,” Wesley said.
The sheriff said he's optimistic his office will have an arrest in the case by the end of the year.
The family said they are offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the conviction of Jackson’s killer.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office. Anonymous tips can be left on the hotline at (479) 474-2261. Callers can select option “0” and leave a message.
