Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A man who faced now dropped capital murder charges in a 2019 fatal house fire is now facing new charges following a fire at his ex-girlfriend’s Jonesboro home.

District Judge David Boling found probable cause Sept. 2 to charge 42-year-old Ezekiel Lewis Lindsey with the following offenses:

• Second-degree stalking (Class C felony)
• Harassing communications/telephone repeatedly, or cause to ring repeated (Class A misdemeanor)

According to the probable cause affidavit, at 1 a.m. on Aug. 30, Jonesboro dispatch received a call reporting smoke on W. Monroe Avenue. Firefighters arrived at the scene, entered the home, and discovered a fire originating in the crawl space area beneath a back bedroom.

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Detectives interviewed the victim, who was the tenant of the home. She told them that she left the property the day before, and it was secure when she left.

The victim explained she had been arguing with her ex-boyfriend, Lindsey, recently. In one instance, Lindsey came to the home, grabbed the victim’s keys and cell phone. He broke the cell phone and never returned the keys.

The victim added that Lindsey had called and made a specific threat to physically harm her and repeatedly called her to the point where she had to turn her cell phone off at times. She told Lindsey multiple times to leave her alone, yet he would continue to try and contact her. Lindsey was also seen driven by the victim’s location before at times unwanted, making her afraid of him.

Detectives located evidence that Lindsey attempted to contact the victim multiple times recently and other evidence regarding the victim’s statements.

A warrant was issued for Lindsey, and he was taken into custody on Sept. 1. During a Mirandized interview, police said Lindsey made incriminating statements. He was subsequently booked into the Craighead County Detention Center.

While discussing bond at Wednesday’s hearing, a prosecutor noted that Lindsey has a lengthy criminal history, saying this is his 24th arrest since 2005. He has been arrested for several felonies, including kidnapping, stalking, terroristic threatening, fleeing, obstructing governmental operations, and endangering the welfare of a minor.

One high-profile case involving Lindsey occurred in June 2019, when he was arrested on three counts of capital murder following a deadly house fire in Earle, AR. K8 News reported that the fire killed another ex-girlfriend of his, her five-year-old son, and another man. However, WREG reported that the charges were nolle prossed months later because Crittenden County investigators said they lacked sufficient evidence to process.

Additionally, the prosecutor mentioned Lindsey has three prior failure-to-appear charges and no ties to Craighead County. Outside of Northeast Arkansas, Lindsey is wanted for extradition out of Alma, AR, for a traffic offense, and is wanted in Tennessee for stalking and other charges. The prosecutor also said that Lindsey recently made “very concerning” statements on social media regarding killing a woman.

Due to his criminal history, Lindsey was given a $1 million cash/surety bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim. He must also not possess any firearms or weapons, and he must wear a GPS ankle monitor upon release.

At Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecutor mentioned that Lindsey refused to sign the no contact order because he had to have access to a gun.

Lindsey’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 26.

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