Man Charged With Killing Former Canton Police Officer

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BENTONVILLE, AR -- The Bentonville, Arkansas, Police Department has charged a 31-year-old man in connection to the death of a former Canton police officer.

James A. Bates has been was arrested on Monday, Feb. 22 on first degree felony murder charges in the death of Victor Parris Collins, 47, of Centerton, which sits to the west of the northwest Arkansas city.

The investigation into Collins’ death began Nov. 22 when officers responded to Bates’s home in Bentonville.

According to a press release, officers arrived at the home and found Collins dead inside a hot tub on the back patio.

Bates told authorities he invited some friends, including Collins, the previous night to watch a sporting event. He initially told officers he went to sleep and woke up the next morning to find Collins unresponsive inside the hot tub, which was filled with water.

An autopsy was performed on Collins at the Arkansas State Crime Lab, and the Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide.

According to 5NEWS, police contend Bates strangled and drowned Collins, who worked with the Canton Police Department between 1998 and 2010. Before coming to Canton, Collins worked as a deputy with the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives executed a search warrant Nov. 25 at the Bates home and pressed on with the investigation. Following months of interviews and investigating the death, Bentonville police presented an affidavit for Bates’s arrest, and the 31-year-old resident was taken into custody without incident around 7 p.m.

He was booked into the Benton County Jail where he is awaiting a formal bond hearing.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help the Collins family. According to the fundraising page, a memorial service was held in Arkansas as well as in Georgia for Collins.

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Photo 1: Victor Parris Collins. Credit: Westfield Chapel
Photo 2: James Andrew Bates. Credit: Benton County Sheriff’s Office