A Southside man faces a felony charge of first-degree stalking following an investigation into a series of threatening text messages reported to law enforcement last week.
According to court documents, the victim and his attorney filed a report with the Batesville Police Department detailing graphic and threatening text messages allegedly sent by William Dene Machen, 51.
After requesting assistance from the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division, police seized Machen’s cellphone and recovered deleted screenshots of the messages.
According to Machen’s arrest affidavit, the messages included explicit threats of physical violence and references to the visit of the governor’s “Capital for a Day” program in Batesville. One message referenced the possession and potential use of an AR-15 rifle and included profanities and slurs.
The victim told investigators that Machen was a former employee who had been terminated in 2024 for theft. He said Machen had sent him vulgar messages since that time, but that the communications had recently escalated to direct threats of bodily harm.
Machen was booked into the Independence County Jail on June 4 on a bond of $35,000. He was released June 6.
Image: Independence County Jail
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