FORDYCE, Ark. — According to the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, coordinated efforts of the U.S. Marshal Service, the Fordyce Police Department and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office lead to two men behind bars.
Police say 28-year-old Jerry Marshall and 27-year-old Nicholas Robinson, both of Fordyce, were arrested on Sept. 6.
They facing felony charges including Rape, Internet stalking of a child, 1st degree Endangering the welfare of a minor, Introducing a controlled substance into the body of another person.
"The arrests came as a result of an investigation into an event where the men allegedly used cell phones and social media to solicit, entice and lure two juvenile victims to meet them for sex," the Dallas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The juveniles ages were 13 and 15.
Once they had the children in the vehicle, they proceeded to a gas station and engaged in a shoot out with another party while the children were forced to take cover in the floorboards of the vehicle.
Following that incident, the men took the children to a local motel where they engaged in drug use and unprotected sexual activity over the next two nights. Both children were treated medically and will receive follow up services from D.H.S.
Marshall had active felony warrants for aggravated robbery in connection with an armed robbery and car jacking last month in the City of Fordyce.
Both men are being held at the Dallas County Jail on $100,000 bonds.
The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.
This article has been updated to include they were arrested on Sept. 6, not Sept. 9.