Suspect reportedly confesses in shooting death of man found in county

A North Little Rock man was arrested Thursday night after a confession that he shot to death Jason McDonald, 32, and dumped the body in a remote Faulkner County location.

James B. Ryan, 32, of North Little Rock was arrested at 5:30 p.m. at the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office by the Arkansas State Police on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Ryan told investigators he shot McDonald on Aug. 19 in Pulaski County and left the body in Faulkner County after setting it on fire.

McDonald's decomposing body was discovered four days later along a Camp Robinson roadside by a bulldozer operator who noticed a foul smell. The victim's clothes were partially burned, said Patrick Moore, Faulkner County coroner.

The motive was drug related, said Sgt. Tim Hibbs, public information officer for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office. The men also had a landlord-tenant relationship, Hibbs said.

Ryan also confessed to being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft by receiving. The theft charges stem from an unrelated incident involving a stolen four-wheeler and pickup, Hibbs said.

The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation by State Police, the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office, the Faulkner County Coroner's Office, the 20th Judicial Prosecuting Attorney's Office and Pulaski County authorities.