RUSSELLVILLE - Less than twelve hours after he was convicted in the double murder of two Yell County men, a Russellville salvage yard owner learned he will spend the rest of his days in an Arkansas prison.
Tyler Barefield, 36, was found guilty Wednesday night on two counts of capital murder in the shooting deaths of Aaron Brock and Beau Dewitt, both 22, on the site of his family’s U-Pull-It Auto Salvage Yard on September 17th, 2016. According to investigators, Barefield believed that the pair was stealing auto parts for later resale. Their bodies were found three days later in a crushed car on the property after their families reported them missing.
The verdict has factions in the community deeply divided on whether Barefield, the son of a prominent local businessman, should have been convicted in the crime while he and many others believed he was protecting his family business. The Courier Newspaper received so many comments on their social media page, writer Travis Simpson was led to pen an editorial defining the law, and when lethal force is a legal option.
According to the ruling in the courtroom of Circuit Judge William “Bill” Pearson, Barefield will not be eligible for parole.