Zakary Scott Chumney, a 35-year-old White man from Mabelvale, Arkansas, was remembered by friends and family as a great friend with a sense of humor who always had a smile on his face. He loved hunting, fishing, Frisbee golf, and riding motorcycles, but especially enjoyed spending time with his loved ones. His life was cut short on a Saturday morning in early summer.
On June 5, 2021, just before 7:45 a.m., deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a disturbance at a residence on Sulphur Springs Road in Jefferson County. When they arrived, they found Zakary Chumney unresponsive on the ground, suffering from a single gunshot wound to his chest. A deputy performed CPR on him until medical personnel arrived.
Chumney was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center, where he died from his injury at 8:15 a.m.
Investigators learned that the shooting had followed an argument involving Chumney, a man named Bradley Scott Hartley, and Hartley’s girlfriend, Opal Evelyn King. During a related confrontation, King had allegedly become upset and rammed Chumney’s GMC Yukon several times with her Chevrolet Tahoe. Both SUVs sustained bumper damage and were seized by authorities.
Witnesses at the scene told deputies that the shooter, identified as 34-year-old Bradley Scott Hartley, had fled into a wooded area south of the residence armed with a silver revolver. The Arkansas Department of Corrections K-9 team was called to search the area but did not locate him. A few hours later, at about 11:40 a.m., Hartley contacted the sheriff’s office by phone and arranged to surrender. He was taken into custody without incident from a nearby home and later led investigators to the wooded area where the revolver was found.
Bradley Scott Hartley was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and possession of firearms by certain persons. He was held in the county jail on a $750,000 bond. Opal Evelyn King, age 20, was also arrested in connection with the incident. She was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly ramming Chumney’s vehicle, and with hindering apprehension or prosecution for reportedly lying to deputies about Hartley’s identity to prevent him from getting into trouble. Her bond was set at $50,000.
As of June 2021, both suspects had been formally charged and were being held in custody pending further court proceedings.
