Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Home invasion leaves 2 dead

A Nevada County man is dead and his exwife

remains in a Texarkana hospital after an

apparent home invasion Sunday night, March

16, according to local police reports. The

gunman, 39-year-old Dwayne Beasley of

Hempstead County then apparently turned the

gun on himself.

The victim has been identified as Donnie

Dougan Jr., 34, known as D.J. His ex-wife,

Lisa Dougan, was also shot. According to

information from the Arkansas State Police,

Beasley went to the Dougan home at 2705

Nevada 8.

According to Nevada County Sheriff

Bobby Carlton, Beasley reportedly entered

the Dougan home shortly before 11 p.m.

Beasley apparently encountered D.J. in a

hallway and shot him in the head. Carlton

said D.J. was on the hallway floor when officers

arrived.

Beasley then apparently proceeded down

the hall to the bedroom where he shot Lisa

before reportedly turning the .22 semi-automatic

on himself.

Carlton said the details are still sketchy

pending a full investigation by the Arkansas

State Police, but that it appeared Dougan had

been shot in the head.

Nevada County Sheriff s Deputy Robert

Henninger and Prescott Police Department

Officer Wesley Lovette responded. Carlton

said that Lisa was in the hallway when officers

arrived and that it was evident that she

had also been shot  apparently once in the

head and once in the hand. Officers moved

her to another room while waiting for emergency

personnel to arrive.

A child who was at the home at the time

was not injured, and called 911 for help at

10:51 p.m.

We dont know for sure if he was looking

for her or not, Carlton said, indicating that

Beasley might have searched for the child

before killing himself.

Carlton said Beasley was pronounced dead

at the scene and D.J. died during transport.

Lisa was transported to Medical Park

Hospital and then to Wadley, according to

Carlton. Carlton said the incident is being

classified as a murder, attempted murder and

suicide, pending completion of the state

police investigation. At press time Monday,

there has been no determination of the reason

for the break-in though Carlton said there is

speculation of a possible motive.

Carlton said that Beasley had been sentenced

to a prison term for possession of

crystal methamphetamine and was currently

on parole in Hempstead County