Judge Chris Piazza of the Arkansas Sixth Circuit, Division 2 stood in and presided over Judge Robin Carroll’s court in his absence on Tuesday during a lengthy docket for the Carroll’s 13th Circuit, Division Four court.
Zayne Hayes, 22, of El Dorado was sentenced to eight years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections during the hearings after pleading guilty to third-degree domestic battery (subq. offense or to a pregnant woman).
According to court documents, Hayes “caused physical injury to” a victim he “knew or should have known was pregnant” on November 4, 2020, resulting in the domestic battery charge. Hayes also faced a habitual offender charge due to having “more than one but less than four prior felonies,” according to court documents, a charge that can result in a lengthier term of imprisonment.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the incident occurred when Hayes was involved in an argument with his girlfriend.
Hayes “became irate and began grabbing her by the hair, pulling him to her,” according to court records. He then moved to the driver’s seat of a vehicle they were in at the time, records say, and the victim fell out of the car onto the ground, at which time “Hayes got on top of her, hitting her in the face and head and holding her down by her neck,” according to the report.
In the same report, the responding EPD officer noted “a large bump on the right side of [the victim’s] face and bruises on her arm.”
Prosecuting Attorney for the 13th Judicial District Deputy Carla Gibson entered a nolle prosequi to an additional charge of first-degree during the hearing, meaning the charge was dropped.
Hayes pleaded guilty in 2017 to second-degree sexual assault, which was amended from a charge of first-degree rape. A second charged of first-degree kidnapping was dismissed at that time. For that conviction, he was sentenced to three years in prison, three years of suspended-imposition of sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender.
In January 2020, Hayes pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by certain persons and was sentenced to five years of probation.