Barling man arrested in connection with child pornography

FORT SMITH – A Barling man is facing various charges after police say they arrested him with a rifle on his way to Central Mall and later found photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse on his phone.

Rodney Sheffield, 41, of Barling was charged with four counts of possession of child pornography, reckless driving, criminal damage, aggravated assault and committing a terrorist act. Sheffield will face the child pornography charges in a separate trial.

Police arrested Sheffield on April 27 after patrol officers saw him weaving in and out of traffic on Rogers Avenue and found a rifle on the passenger seat when they stopped him. Officers also reported finding two loaded rifle magazines during a search of Sheffield.

According to court documents, after Sheffield’s arrest, police confiscated his mobile phone and found 37 sexually explicit images of children under the age of 10.

Sheffield’s trial on child pornography charges is scheduled for October 14. No trial date has been set for the other charges.

Sheffield’s attorney, Adam H. Rose, filed a notice of intent to plead mental disease or defect in Sheffield’s defense and requested a psychiatric evaluation for him.

Sheffield was released from the Sebastian County Jail on May 10 on $200,000 bail.