Former Walmart workers get probation for threatening co-worker

Two former Walmart employees in Jonesboro, Aquawon Blair and Jamari Blankenship, were sentenced to 18 months of probation after each pleaded guilty to first-degree terroristic threatening. Second Judicial Circuit Court Judge Scott Ellington imposed the sentence after negotiated guilty pleas in a case that centered on a threat to kill a co-worker.

The charge matters because Arkansas treats first-degree terroristic threatening as a Class D felony when someone, with the purpose of terrorizing another person, threatens death or serious physical injury. A related court account said police alleged Blair and Blankenship pointed a gun at the co-worker near the Walmart on Highland, which pushes the case well beyond an ordinary workplace argument and into the kind of violence threat retailers have to take seriously.

For hourly associates and managers, the practical lesson is simple: intimidation at work is not just a personality conflict to manage later. Retail runs on close quarters, fast pace and repeated stress, which means one threat can chill an entire shift. Walmart’s ethics guidance says respect is a core value and that the company has a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and harassment, a reminder that threat and intimidation complaints belong in the same safety bucket as any other workplace conduct problem.

Arkansas law gives workers and employers another tool. Under state workplace-violence rules, if an employer or employee receives a threat that can reasonably be understood as one that could be carried out at the work site, the employer may seek a temporary restraining order or injunction. OSHA has also long warned that workplace violence, including verbal threats, is a retail hazard and has published prevention guidance for late-night retail employers.

What to do if this happens at your store: document exactly what was said, when it happened and who heard it. Tell a supervisor or store leader right away, and escalate to security or other leadership if the threat sounds credible or involves a weapon. If the threat is tied to the work site, Arkansas law allows the employer or threatened employee to pursue a restraining order or injunction, and leaders should treat the complaint as a safety issue, not a messy disagreement to smooth over after the shift.

The Jonesboro case shows how quickly a co-worker dispute can become a criminal matter once a threat crosses the line. For stores trying to keep people clocking in without fear, the real test is whether leaders act before the situation turns into a probation hearing, a police report, or worse.