Woman arrested after allegedly attacking her son’s adoptive father

An apparently homeless woman was arrested on Friday on a warrant alleging that she entered the home of the 74-year-old man who had adopted her son and attacked him and her son.

Sherry Lynn Wideman, 48, who lists her address as City Streets, was arrested shortly before 12:30 p.m. in the 3200 block of Central Avenue. She was charged with aggravated residential burglary (up to life in prison) and second-degree assault (up to six years in prison), as well as misdemeanor counts of violating a restraining order, second-degree criminal damage to property and second-degree assault on a family or household member.

Wideman was being held on $112,500 bail and was scheduled to appear in Garland County District Court on Monday. According to court records, she has no prior criminal record but has multiple convictions for trespassing and violating no-contact orders, as well as third-degree assault and battery, and was on probation.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Hot Springs police responded to a residence on Jerome Street around 5:15 p.m. on July 15 and spoke with the alleged victim and his 14-year-old adopted son. They found the man had injuries to his face and his glasses, valued at $600, were broken.

The man stated that shortly before officers arrived, his son’s biological mother, identified as Wideman, came through the unlocked front door of his home while he was in the backyard. When he tried to get her to leave, she allegedly punched him in the face, injuring him and breaking his glasses.

When his son tried to separate the two, Wideman allegedly struck him in the shoulder, but officers noted that they could not find any injuries on him. The father reportedly had bruising and discoloration on the left side of his face, “mainly on his cheek,” and a cut on the side of his nose where his glasses had been.

Wideman had fled the scene before police arrived, but a computer check revealed that a court order had been issued on June 14 prohibiting her from having contact with the man and his immediate family and barring her from entering the residence. That order does not expire until June 14, 2025.

Following further investigation, an arrest warrant was issued against Wideman on Friday on various charges.