MALVERN, Ark. (KTHV) - Elsbeth Kittinger, 49, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to shooting an Arkansas State Trooper during a traffic stop in Rockport, Arkansas on April 1.
Arkansas State Trooper Kyle Sheldon was the officer shot. He has since undergone successful surgery and is on the way to recovery.
Kittinger pleaded guilty to the first-degree battery (officer in the line of duty) and commission of a felony with a firearm as part of a plea deal. The first-degree battery charge carries a life sentence because she assaulted a police officer. She is set to serve a consecutive sentence of 15 years for the commission of a felony with a firearm charge.
Kittinger will be eligible for parole.
The shooting was reported at 8:42 p.m. on April 1. Malvern police were answering a call nearby and returned gunfire as Kittinger drove away in an older model Dodge truck. She fled about five miles to Doyle Jones Road, where she was met with gunfire again and taken into custody with a gunshot wound.
She was later released into custody at the Garland County Detention Center after receiving treatment at Baptist Health Medical Center-Hot Spring County.
Sheldon provided the story of how he became a State Trooper as part of the Arkansas State Police's #WhyIWearTheBadgeWednesdays. You can read the full post below. Sheldon said that he grew up in a criminal family.
"I recall many times seeing the police at my house, and many times I was the one that called them," Sheldon said. "When I saw the lights and the uniforms pull in the yard I knew from that point on that I was safe. I told myself that I would be the one who broke the cycle."
He was adopted at the age of 15 and worked with the Department of Corrections, Malvern Police Department and attended Henderson State University.
Police officers acted as servers at Colton's Steakhouse and donated their tips to Sheldon's family from 4-8 p.m. on May 5.
Below is Sheldon's #WhyIWearTheBadgeWednesday post on the Arkansas State Police Facebook page. It describes his tumultuous journey from the child of criminals to an Arkansas State Trooper.