Transformation_v15.no1.2000.Winter.pdf
- Title
- Transformation_v15.no1.2000.Winter.pdf
- extracted text
-
Property of the Center
Transformation
Vol. 15 Issue 1
Winter 2000
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Freddie Nixon - Little Rock
Amy Edgington - Little Rock
Celia Wildroot - Hot Springs
Annette Shead - Little Rock
Precious Williams - Ogden
Sarah Facen - Little Rock
Sandra Mitchell - Little Rock
Tammy Roberson - Little Rock
Yvonne Croston - N. Little Rock
STAFF
Felicia Davidson
Lynn Frost
Dee Dee Green
Judy Matsuoka
Suzanne Pharr
Pat Schuyler
Anne Shelley
INSIDE
1998 Women's
Watchcare
Network Log
1998 Bias Violence
in Arkansas
T
his edition of Transformation
includes events of violence that
occurred in the state of Arkansas
in 1998 (look for the 1999 Log to be
published this Spring). Some of these
events claim heinous, yet familiar circumstances such as the murders· of
women by an intimate partner or spouse.
Others mark a not-so-familiar trend profiling white youth as perpetrators in
large scale school violence.
In April 1995, we began monitoring the murders of youth across the
state of Arkansas. Of the 3 8 murders
logged in 1995, 27 of the young people
reportedly died as the result of street
violence. In 1998, 14 of 23 (61%) murders were committed by an acquaintance
or a relative of the victim. Our society
has managed to use violence as an oppressive tool, teaching our youth that it
is easier to eliminate what is perceived
to be the problem rather than identifying
the source of conflict and working toward peaceful resolution. These numbers are a reflection of the patterns of
violence that impede our progress toward communal and universal peace for
all individuals regardless of race, age,
sex, religion, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.
Synopsis
In 1998, we recorded murders of
45 women including Westside Middle
School teacher Shannon Wright, 32,
Dee Dee Green
who was killed, along with four female
students, after two male students
opened fire on the campus as the result
of an alleged breakup between the older
child and his seventh-grade girlfriend.
The day after the Westside Middle
School shooting, Misty Erwin, 20, was
killed by her boyfriend, Clay Smith,
who also killed her two children, her
cousin and a babysitter. Although these
were not all domestic murders, the motivation for these crimes are an indication of our society's devaluation of human life, especially the lives of women
and children. The abhorrent acts speak
to the images of hate and violence that
pervade our society and shape the values and standards of our youth. The
difference in media coverage of these
crimes also reflects our society's acceptance of domestic violence as ordinary,
whereas violence committed by white
youth is seen as extraordinary.
Of the murders of women recorded, 31 of the 45 victims (69%)
were killed by an acquaintance, relative, spouse (ex-) or boyfriend (ex-).
51% of the murders were committed by
gunfire. 11% of the perpetrators shot
and killed themselves. 9% killed children during the assault of the women.
23 murders of youth were recorded including three suicides.
(continued on page 2)
1998 Bias Violence
in Arkansas
61% of murdered youth were
killed by an acquaintance or
blood relative. 13% of these
youth committed suicide. 30%
of the murders involved multiple
homicides. 83% of the murders
were executed by gunfire. Two
deaths of infant children, a
newborn and a 3-month-old,
were recorded. Both were killed
by a parent.
Other Activities in Arkansas
There are several other
incidents of bias violence and
discrimination that Watchcare
monitors and logs, such as hate
group act1v1ty, elder abuse,
violence against people with
disabilities,
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual and transgendered
individuals
and religious
minorities to name a few. Some
of these occurrences do not
receive adequate attention from
the community and media.
Watchcare works to counter this
inadequacy
by monitoring,
documenting and responding to
any event significant to senseless
hate-based violence.
The 1998 Log reports
four incidents of violence against
aging persons, one of which died
after being robbed, raped and
bludgeoned to death. Three acts
of violence against people with
disabilities are listed in the Log,
including two institutionalized
adults and one homeless victim.
Discriminatory
acts against
LGBT persons are recorded, one
being the suicide of a male
whose name and address
appeared in the ArkansasDemocrat Gazette after being
arrested
on sex-related
misdemeanor charges.
Eight
episodes of racism and racist
violence are published in addition
to a national report citing 670
church burnings tracked by the
national task force since 1995.
Six reports of local hate group
activity appear in the Log.
Additional information on the
investigation
of the Aryan
Republic Army and Chevie
Kehoe is included. Kehoe 1s
charged in the 1996 murders of
One out of two
women in the state of
Arkansas will at
some point in her life
experience domestic
battery.
William Mueller, 53, his wife,
Nancy, 28, and her 8-year-old
daughter, Sarah Powell near
Russellville, in order to fund a
white republic in the Pacific
Northwest.
Two reports of
possible satanic activity are listed,
one of which involves cruel
attacks on ten horses in Barling,
Arkansas. One incident of antiabortion violence appears in the
edition of Transformation.
Final Words
It is difficult to understand
the extent to which violence has
moved from the status of antisocial behavior to a glamorized
Page 2 • Transformation• Winter 2000
solution to any given situation.
It is even more .difficult to
fathom the enormous influence
violence has over interpersonal
relationships.
According to
statistics, every nine to fifteen
seconds a woman in this country
is abused by an intimate partner
or spouse. One out of two
women in the state of Arkansas
will at some point in her life
experience domestic battery.
Children killing classmates,
parents killing children, adults
abusing
elderly
parents,
Christians growing intolerant of
Jews, straight people bashing gay
people
and
able-bodied
individuals mistreating disabled
individuals are indications that
such aberrant behavior has
become socially and morally
acceptable.
The Women's Project
and its constituency have worked
srnce
19 81 toward
the
elimination
of racism and
sexism. The connection between
these social constructions and
others force us to address all
issues of bias-based violence in
Arkansas.
The Women's
Watchcare Network continues to
proactively advocate for peace,
educate
and
organize
communities around issues of
hate-induced
violence.
In
addition to community activism,
the Network publishes this
annual Log in order to inform
and encourage movement toward
social change.
••••••
Abc,ut the' Women's
Watchcare Network Log,
All incidents are listed by the date
of the first report to appear in the
media. The newspaper cited most
often is the Arkansas DemocratGazette, which is listed as ADG.
The Log.is published an-.
nu· lly as documentation of vfo...
leµce against Arkansans and is··
based oti_gender, race, ethnicity,
Racist Violence
nat1onali>pgin;age, disability.
orientation and
religion, '-s¢xtial
gei1g£~~deiitity,a.swell~ a.ctiviFebruary 19, Conway
ties gfotganizelfhate grou~~£in]
Tammy
Stanley,
a
Arkansas. We.doctimeutnf or~
University of Central Arkansas
dett() serve.as;wit11ess~~
t~gthJi
olfg~irlg'~fbi~nce,~gainstpeople '
secretary, was fired after a fight
with an associate professor, Dr.
wlIQ"a;r:eperc'eived
as different, to
Barbara Holmes. According to
increa.si cdmhiunity aw~eness1
reports,
the confrontation
of@~epide,JI1ig
preyalehce
of
fi~!in~~?
~~-t?,P.(<?J!~e.:s11pp~ft:- occurred when Dr. Holmes asked
Ms. Stanley, a department
m~1nfoipiat1onl_<l
those working
secretary, to come to her office to
(Q~jgcialchange, .includingnational ariti-violen~eprojects, 19:-: tell her a travel request form had
been sent back to the department
cal\fo111esticviolence advocates~.
because it did not contain all the
(~l4,'c9mmuriities;fegislators, ;:
atitr
others.'' ·• • .•·.·•••
necessary information. Accounts
*
.•
Ojµ:log·co11tainsonly fo;.
then vary, but both parties agree
that Ms. Stanley called Dr.
ro~tion:·IB;t)s ve'nffal?l~by
11fuhedssoutces.
'.':We:hav• •'15s¢:h· Holmes
names,
including
"n****r".
Dr. Holmes also
tfiisuµitlio<Itfi
·debaf':ov. e':if ll
tittrf
claims that Stanley shoved her,
_'ff""-->_:<_~--~-. '~~-c:\J:1i:,
. .
injuring
her knees.
~s·:P!e;clt!~~~~t•'¥'
,)1:~9~~~.•~ct··
mandate~
t1iat
uie ma9or'§"
Stanley, who has worked
,
w ,.
'< •
•~·••~ ·, ' es
·,
of"ififi
·
••
•
ati
·.·
:
:fr··
h.
":1'"
.,,,
for
the
university for four years,
, .,. 9"t:m>:
91\. opL~ qg ,,,.
ne~s:f>'aper
....·dJir~· ,.·~tu _..,.,,. received a letter of termination
·1·
~.,,
..•
h·. ·a······,
•"'.·. •.,.,,,~
••• ·•>R•'~ t • .:"',;:i
1:s}~.,!>}I';
.,.. gtou .~f:tet}~fi'·'F citing her "insubordination and
t!!rles,"'vI~t~'6t;hati'¥~.
·.~~~·db. conduct reflecting unfavorably
•:.•>,~~.,,,,,,:·
upon the reputation of the
'
university."
Stanley said she intends to
file a grievance over the firing,
which she claims was racially
motivated. She said she feels
department chair Dr. David
Skotko believed Dr. Holmes'
version of the events because Dr.
Holmes is black and Stanley is
white. "He was afraid to punish
•
'.
{H
'
"•
~t· ,',_•1'1," ·.. ·''
._ ,--, '-~
"-',c""<-',"••• ,..,.
.,
,_~
ttttthfiiin~ls~or
"·• • .:·
-~~-(,.;"p~;
y
e
nor
j,.;
,, • ,
·
•;,,
Page 3 • Transformation • Winter 2000
her. He's scared she'll end up
filing a discrimination lawsuit
against him."
Arkansas • State Press:
2/19
March 4, Fayetteville
A $1,000 reward is being
offered by the chancellor of the
University of Arkansas for
information about a vandal who
spray-painted "I love n****rs"
on the outside of the Sigma Chi
fraternity. The members of the
fraternity awoke on Feb. 13 to
find several derogatory messages
spray-painted on their house and
several cars.
Police believe the vandal
or vandals may have acted in
retaliation for a fight one of the
fraternity members got into at a
nightclub on Feb. 12.
Northwest
Arkansas
Times, ADG: 3/3, 3/4
October 3, Little Rock
Shirley residents, Michell
Dunn, 22, and Robert Treece, 25,
pleaded guilty in U.S. District
Court to the 1995 burning of an
interracial church run by the
Universal Church of God in
Shirley, Arkansas.
The two
arsonists admitted that they were
motivated to intimidate black
church members by conspiring to
burn the mobile home used by
the church as a Christian school.
A third man, Jerry Jones,
25, of Shirley pleaded guilty to a
conspiracy charge after driving
Treece to the scene to burn the
church building.
After being sentenced to
97 months in prison, Treece
requested that he serve his term
in an area away from blacks who
know the nature of his crime. He
reported being threatened by
some blacks in the Pulaski
County jail, including an inmate
"with a bad reputation." "We
don't
have any all-white
prisons," said U.S. District Judge
Henry Woods. However, the
judge agreed to alert the prison
system of Treece's request.
All
three
of the
conspirators were handed the
minimum sentences allowable
under
federal
sentencing
guidelines.
LCD, ADG: 4/17, 10/2,
10/3, 12/10
January 7, Greenbrier
Federal authorities are
investigating an area crossburning near Greenbrier as a
possible hate crime.
The
incident was reported to the
Faulkner County Sheriffs Office
on November 21, 1998, when
Angela Maxfield, a black
resident west of Wooster,
discovered the cross burning in
her front yard.
Assistant U.S. District
Attorney Michael Johnson stated,
"We are investigating it...and
have been since it was brought to
our attention shortly after the
incident. We typically stay with
these cases until we solve them."
He was unable to release
information
concerning the
investigation, but guaranteed that
the federal agency had every
intention of reaching some
resolution despite the length of
the investigation.
LCD: 1/7
February 25, Little Rock
A U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity
Commission's
lawsuit claims that the Cajun
Company's Caucasian foreman
referred to its African-American
employees as "n****rs." The
lawsuit alleges the AfricanAmerican employees were treated
more harshly than others and they
were discharged or forced to quit
because of their race. The suit is
seeking Jost wages with interest,
compensatory
damages
for
emotional and psychological
harm, and punitive damages.
In late January, the EEOC
filed another lawsuit claiming
female employees at Odom
Antennas Inc. of Beebe had been
subjected to sexual harassment
and possible retaliation following
their complaints about the aJleged
unlawful practices. The lawsuit
seeks lost wages with interest,
compensatory
damages
for
emotional and psychological harm
as well as punitive damages.
Both lawsuits were filed in
the Federal District Court system
in Arkansas.
Little Rock Free Press:
2/25-3/10
February 26, North Little Rock
Police were called to a
North Little Rock convenience
store when a Little Rock man and
a Bauxite resident sculled twice
after both men nearly caused a
traffic accident.
The Little Rock man
Page 4 • Transformation • Winter 2000
reported that while driving west
on 47th Street the Bauxite man
almost caused a traffic accident.
The Bauxite man reportedly
followed the Little Rock resident
into the SheU Superstop on
Camp Robinson Road, where he
began using racial slurs before
striking the Little Rock man.
After leaving the store, the
Bauxite resident returned to the
parking lot. He told authorities
that the Little Rock man nearly
hit his car and a second fight
ensued.
Police made no arrests,
but they told the Little Rock man
to contact prosecutors for
warrants.
ADG: 2/26
March 14, Little Rock
A male caller to the
Women's Project left the
following message for the white
woman who facilitates the
"White Women Reading Against
Racism" book group: "Tell her
that I don't believe in all this
interracial sh*t. I don't think it's
alright for blacks and whites to
get married. Yeah, I'm a racist
and I don't like all this interracial
sh*t."
The caller did not leave
his name or phone number.
Witness Report: 3/14
October 23, Washington
(National)
Statistics show that onefourth of the nation's church
burnings are made up of black
churches. Bill Lann Lee, acting
assistant attorney general, said,
"Right now we have found no
evidence of a national conspiracy
based on racial bias or antireligious motives. In some cases,
clusters of church attacks
revealed 'local coordination'
among arsonists:"
The national task force
formed to track attacks on
churches has been investigating
church fires since 1995. The task
force reported that of the 670
suspicious church fires,
bombings or attempted bombings
since 1995 show that 225
targeted black churches; 297
churches were burned in 1996,
119 of them were black. In
1997, the task force tallied 53
attacks on black churches and
155 on others. Eight months into
1998, 28 of the 114 churches
targeted were black.
Most of the fires
remained unsolved, however 308
people have been arrested in
church attacks. Looking at
attacks on black churches, 68
whites, 37 blacks, and one
Hispanic have been arrested.·
ADG: 10/23
Sexist Violence
Murders of Women
January 6, Pulaski County
The body of Kimberly
Fudge, 35, was found in a
shallow grave in the southern
part of the county by a man
walking through the woods. She
had been stabbed several times in
the chest.
Fudge's mother, Helen
Wade, 68, reported her daughter
missing to the North Little Rock
police. According to the report,
Kimberly Fudge had not been
seen since Dec. 27.
Wade told police that
Kimberly Fudge and her husband,
James Charles Fudge, 33, fought
Dec. 26 and that he allegedly cut
his wife on the face with a knife
and choked her. James Fudge
threatened to kill Kimberly during
the Dec. 26 encounter, according
to Wade.
Kimberly Fudge
refused to call police and report
the attack, according to her
mother.
James Fudge was arrested
on Jan. 26 in Portland, Ore. He
was charged with first-degree
murder and unlawful flight to
avoid prosecution. He was also
arrested on a 1990 probation
revocation
warrant
from
Washington County, Ore. He has
an arrest record dating to 1980
with charges of aggravated
battery, first-degree domestic
battery, second-degree battery,
•terroristic threatening, disorderly
conduct and fleeing.
ADG, The Oregonian:
1/6, 1/8, 1/28
January 10, El Dorado
Carolyn White Sturgis, 42,
was found dead on Friday
morning beside a county road
northeast of El Dorado by a
Union County Road Department
employee. Her body had multiple
gunshot wounds.
Page 5 • Transformation • Winter 2000
Sturgis was seen alive the
night before when she visited
some friends in El Dorado.
ADG: 1110 •
January 14, Little Rock
A Sherwood man killed
his ex-girlfriend and then shot
himself in the front yard of the
woman's
home.
Angela
Goodrich, 33, died on the
sidewalk near the front steps of
her home. She had been shot
once in the chest with a .12gauge shotgun.
Gerald
Stell,
37,
apparently drove up to the house
just after Goodrich started her
car to go to work. Before she
could flee into the house, Stell
shot her. Stell then stood over
Goodrich and shot himself in the
chest.
Detectives said there
were no police reports that Stell
had ever harassed or stalked
Goodrich.
ADG: 1/14
January 22, Little Rock
Larry Wayne Barnes, 28,
pleaded innocent to a charge of
first-degree
murder in the
shooting death of his ex-wife,
Debra Settles O'Neal, 36,
outside her home on January 20.
He was ordered held in the
Pulaski County jail on $200,000
bond.
O'Neal's
15-year-old
son, Grady O'Neal, told deputies
that his mother had recently
divorced Barnes but Barnes came
to the house, told O'Neal he
wanted
to
resume
the
relationship, "would not take
'no' for an answer" and refused
to leave.
Mother and son went
inside the house and locked the
doors. Debra O'Neal tried to call
sheriffs deputies, but Barnes cut
the telephone line, deputies said.
Grady
O'Neal
told
deputies that he and his mother
went back outside where Barnes
was waiting.
While Grady
O'Neal was walking to a
neighbor's home to call the
sheriffs office, Barnes allegedly
fired three or four shots and
Debra Barnes fell with wounds in
her back and right hand. Barnes
then ran to his pickup and fled.
Deputies found O'Neal
lying in the street, conscious but
unresponsive. She was flown by
helicopter to Baptist Medical
Center.
Barnes was stopped and
arrested on single counts of firstdegree domestic battery and for
being a felon in possession of a
firearm. The battery charge was
changed to first-degree murder
when O'Neal died later in the
evening.
Barnes was later
convicted of capital murder and
sentenced to life in pnson
without parole.
ADG: 1/22, 9/30
January 23, Elaine
The body of Mary T.
Harris, 69, was found on the
floor of her home by family
members. The cause of death is
yet to be determined by state
police and Phillips County
sheriffs deputies are handling it
as a homicide.
ADG: 1/23
last three years.
The report from the state
Crime Laboratory indicated that
the unidentified victim died from
multiple injuries, in particular
blunt-force trauma to the skull,
Lt. Ray Shoptaw said. "They
ruled it a homicide," he said.
ADG: 2/11
January 30, Hot Springs
Ulda Morales, 33, was
stabbed to death by her exboyfriend, Carlos Cambre, 31, in
an Oaklawn Park horse barn
where she worked as a groomer.
The two had been living together
until the past weekend, when
Morales reportedly moved out
after a domestic dispute. She had
moved in with friends at a nearby
trailer park.
Cambre had been twice
warned to stay away from
Morales and Barn 16.
On
Thursday morning, Morales and
Cambre began to fight, said
Oaklawn spokesperson Terry
Wallace.
Several people
witnessed the fight and tried
unsuccessfully to separate the
two. Security officers managed to
restrain Cambre only after he had
stabbed Morales and then slashed
his throat and stabbed himself in
the chest, police reported.
He was charged with firstdegree murder upon his release
from the hospital where he
underwent surgery.
ADG: 1/30, 1/31, 2/5
February 25, Harrison
The body of a woman
found the evening of February 23
in a wooded area is believed to
be that of Kelly Ann Hom, 26, of
Harrison. Hom was last seen
Feb. 17 and was reported
missing by her husband. Her car
had been found in the Ozark
Mall parking lot on U.S. 65 in
Harrison and some clothing at
the wooded area matched some
clothing belonging to Hom.
A man being held in the
Boone County jail on an
unrelated charge began offering
information about a missing
woman.
The information led
authorities to the body in an area
about 2 miles north of Harrison.
The body has been sent to
the state Crime Laboratory. The
cause
of
death
was
undetermined. ADG: 2125
February 11, Hot Springs
The ·skeletal remams
found Oct. 4 by hunters in a
remote area near Arkansas 298
were confirmed to be those of a
woman aged 20-35 years old with
"mixed black and white features."
She was 5 feet to 5'4" tall, had
evidence of a broken nose that
was never set, and died within the
March 11, McNeil
Jacqueline Ellis Wesson,
36, was shot and killed during an
argument with her husband,
according to Columbia County
Sheriff Wayne Tompkins. Her
husband, Willie Roy Wesson, 45,
was arrested after a Stephens
police officer stopped his car in
Ouachita County and seized a
Page 6 • Transformation • Winter 2000
gun allegedly used m the
shooting.
The shooting occurred
just before 11 p.m. Sunday at a
McNeil residence.
ADG: 3/11
March 15, Pulaski County
An unidentified woman's
body was discovered
by
Maumelle police on the banks of
the Arkansas River. Authorities
would not disclose additional
information about the discovery.
ADG: 3/15
March 17, Mayflower
The death of Rebecca
Burks, 41, who died Jan. 29, is
being investigated as a homicide.
Initially she was thought to have
died as the result of a house fire
from which her son, James
Burks, 22, escaped.
ADG: 3/17
March 21, College Station
Sheila Robierson, 32, was
found dead in her home from a
gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives
are
interviewing family members and
witnesses trying to develop leads
to a suspect.
ADG: 3/21
March 28, Pine Bluff
Clay King Smith, 27, was
charged with five counts of
capital murder for the shooting
deaths of Misty Erwin, 20; her
cousin, Shelly Sorg, 24; Sorg's
children, Taylor Nicole Sorg, 3,
and Sean Michael Sorg, 5; and
Samantha Rhodes, 12. Samantha
Rhodes, the baby-sitter, was also
beaten in the face as well as shot.
All had been shot with a smallcaliber weapon.
Sheriff's
deputies
discovered the bodies in the
mobile home near Redfield where
Erwin lived with Smith after
relatives filed m1ssmg persons
reports.
James Erwin,
Misty
Erwin's uncle, said Smith had a
history of domestic violence with
Misty. He said Smith had been
arrested recently and threatened to
kill Misty Erwin when he got out
of jail.
Prosecuting
Attorney
Betty Dickey said that Smith is
unemployed and is addicted to
methamphetamine.
She said
deputies were called to the
residence two days before the
murders for "a minor incident,"
possibly involving abuse, but
"apparently she was not injured
seriously and didn't want him
prosecuted."
"This is a classic case of
domestic violence," Dickey said.
Smith was found guilty
and sentenced to death.
ADG: 3/27, 3/28, 3/31
April 8, Fayetteville
Vivian Ferguson, 38, was
found dead of stab wounds in the
bathroom of an apartment after
police received a 911 call
reporting a suicide. Police found
a butter knife in Ferguson's hand.
Tracy M. Wright, 27, Ferguson's
boyfriend, allegedly told police
that Ferguson had stabbed herself
Page 7 • Transformation • Winter 2000
with that knife.
Investigators at the state
Crime
Laboratory
found
Wright's wounds' were not
consistent with the butter knife.
They found she had been stabbed
with a sharp, double-edged knife
like a dagger. The knife was
recovered about a month after
Ferguson's death.
Police
suspect
that
Ferguson and Wright fought after
she kicked or tipped over a
bucket of gasoline and spilled it
on the floor. Lt. Tim Helder said
Wright allegedly had been
"huffing" or inhaling gasoline
fumes to become intoxicated.
Police
said Wright
stabbed Ferguson during the
fight, then walked six blocks to
his sister's house to tell her that
Ferguson was dead. The two
went back to the apartment, then
Wright's sister call 911 and
reported a suicide.
Police
believe the sister, Angelita
Blackburn, thought that Ferguson
had indeed killed herself. She
has not been charged.
Wright was held in the
Washington County jail on a
first-degree murder charge. He
was convicted of first-degree
murder and sentenced to 40 years
in the Department of Correction.
ADG: 4/8, 8/13, 8/16
April 1O,West Memphis
Larry Jones, 39, allegedly
cut the throats of his wife,
Sandra Jones, 34, and her two
sons, Courtney Jones, 17, and
Deron Davis, 10. Their bodies
were found in their home after
Larry Jones called the police.
"He wanted us to believe
that he had walked in and found
the bodies," West Memphis
Police Lt. Mike Allen said. "A
neighbor told us otherwise .... He
had pretty much told the
neighbor what he had done."
Jones was charged with
three counts of capital murder
and is being held in the
Crittenden County jail without
bond. He confessed after his
arrest but did not give a motive.
Sandra and Larry Jones
had been married since August
1997. Matilda Johnson, Sandra
Jones' stepmother~ described
Larry Jones as a controlling man
who tried to isolate his wife from
others. Police said Larry Jones
has a history of domestic abuse.
Log Cabin Democrat,
ADG: 4110, 4/11, 4/14
April 14, Heber Springs
1bree people were found
dead in the Eden Isle community
after authorities received a 911
call in which they heard
gunshots.
Ramona "Mona"
Irving, 34, her daughter Austin
Irving, 11, and her husband
Charles Irving, 66, were found
dead. The mother and daughter
had each been shot in the head
and chest, and police said
Charles Irving killed them.
Charles Irving died of a selfinflicted gunshot wound to the
head.
Authorities said they
received the call about 7 p.m.
Austin Irving's voice was heard
pleading with the 911 operator
for help, "My dad is killing my
mother." The dispatcher then
heard a barrage of gunfire and
then silence as the phone fell to
the floor.
Neighbors and friends said
Charles Irving filed for divorce
March 31 and had moved out of
the house. A restraining order
was filed the same day as the
divorce was filed. The divorce
would have been final in a few
weeks.
ADG: 4114, 4/15, 4/16
May 3, Little Rock
Paul Smith, 36, was
arrested for the beating death of
his
ex-girlfriend,
Emma
Goodman, 47.
Goodman's
grandson, Marcus Thomas, 11,
told police and family members
that Smith cut phone and power
lines to the house, kicked in the
front door, and came inside
against his grandmother's orders.
When
Goodman,
clutching Marcus and his 3-yearold sister, Kayla Goodman, to her
sides, told Smith to leave, Smith
told her to let go of the children or
he would cut off her hands.
Smith then allegedly yanked a
crystal doorknob from the kitchen
door and attacked Goodman.
Marcus said Smith beat
Goodman with the doorknob and
stabbed her with its metal shank
twice in the chest.
Smith
allegedly slammed Goodman's
head against a wall, choked her
and dragged her up and down the
staircase.
When the children tried to
leave the house, Smith allegedly
threatened to stab them.
The children's mother,
Phyllis Goodman, 27, found them
Page 8 • Transformation • Winter 2000
and her mother the next morning.
The 3-year-old had spent the
night
sleeping
alongside
Goodman's body on the sofa.
Family members said that Smith
had assaulted Goodman in the
past.
Smith entered innocent
pleas to charges of first-degree
murder, aggravated assault,
terroristic threatening and two
counts of false imprisonment.
Bond was set at $250,000.
ADG: 5/3, 5/5
May 12, Pine Bluff
The body of a woman
was found in a lake on the city's
northeast side. The Jefferson
County coroner's office said it
believed the woman, who was
African-American, was in her
20s. It appeared that she had
been dead for several days.
ADG: 5/12
July 2, Helena
Emeka N. Robinson, 21,
died the day after being shot by
her boyfriend, Jimmy Lee Guy,
28. Guy shot Helena Police
Capt. Richard Wyssbrod, 44,
who was apparently trying to
break up a domestic disturbance,
then shot Robinson. Guy then
shot himself to death.
The
weapon was a· .45-caliber
semiautomatic handgun.
Officials said there was a
history of domestic disturbances
at the Guy-Robinson residence.
Guy was released from the
Phillips County jail on June 25,
having been arrested June 6 on a
contempt of court charge.
ADG: 712
July 9, Hope
Alicia Blackmon, 32, was
killed and her boyfriend, Roy
Lynn Arnold; 36, was critically
wounded by her estranged
husband,
Vance Dewayne
Blackmon, 34, who then killed
himself. The shootings occurred
at Alicia Blackmon's residence.
Hempstead County authorities
had responded to several alleged
incidences at the residence
during the past few months.
Alicia and Vance Blackmon had
been under protective orders
preventing each other from
harming the other.
Arnold was admitted to
the hospital in stable condition.
Authorities reported that after the
shooting, despite his wounds,
Arnold took the Blackmon's two
children across the highway to a
neighbor's residence, from where
the sheriffs office was called.
ADG: 719
July 19, London (Pope County)
Dana Tester, 55, and her
husband, Don Tester, 71, were
found dead in the living room of
their home. Preliminary autopsy
reports show that each had been
strangled and had sustained
multiple blunt force injuries;
Dana Tester also suffered sharp
force injuries to her neck.
The Testers' car, a 1995
Dodge Stratus,
was later
recovered in Houston and other
stolen property was found at a
Houston pawn shop.
Thomas
Taylor,
a
Bentonville
resident,
told
authorities that Roy Tester, the
Testers' son, took him and a 15year-old girl to the Testers' home.
On a later trip, Roy Tester and his
father began arguing. Roy Tester
choked his father and then
advanced on his mother. At that
point, Taylor and the 15-year-old
girl left the house and went to a
truck. Taylor told authorities that
Tester told him that he had cut his
mother's throat.
Taylor said that he, the 15year-old girl and Tester drove to
Houston in the Dodge Stratus and
that Tester pawned a guitar,
jewelry and a watch belonging to
his parents.
A warrant for Roy Tester,
was later issued. He was captured
February 12, 1999 in Seminole,
Florida. He is charged with two
counts of capital murder.
ADG: 7/19, 7/21, 7/29,
7/30, 8/2, 8/24, 2/25/99
July 20, Kirby (Pike County)
Jimmy Morgan, 44, was
arrested in the shooting death of
his girlfriend, Carolyn Marie
Cowart, 49.
The two were part of a
country music band that had
played in Malvern. Witnesses
said that the two had been arguing
throughout the night and Cowart
had asked Morgan to move out.
Cowart's brother and sister-in-law
were at the house and were
aroused from bed by the sound of
gunshots after 3 a.m.
The couple found Morgan
holding a pistol in the kitchen at
the back door of the house.
Morgan reportedly threatened
Page 9 • Transformation • Winter 2000
them with the weapon before
leaving the scene on foot.
Morgan fled into the woods near
the house and the brother then
found his sister outside on the
steps to the back door, shot
several times.
After a manhunt, Morgan
was found two miles away and
was arrested without incident by
local authorities.
He told
officers that he knew nothing
about the shooting and is being
held in the Pike County jail on a
charge of capital murder.
ADG: 7/20, 7/28
July 28, Booneville
The body of Rhonda
Combs, 23, was driven to the
Booneville Police Department by
her boyfriend. The man said
Combs' ex-husband, Timothy
Buffington, 32, had asked them
to drive him to a bridge so he
could hide some property before
leaving on a trip. Once at the
bridge, Buffington allegedly
unwrapped a rifle from a blanket
and shot through the truck's back
window, hitting Combs once in
the head. The boyfriend drove
off before Buffington could
reload. Buffington also allegedly
claimed that he was on the way
to kill his children.
Police
placed the children and their
grandmother into protective
custody while tracking Timothy
Buffington to the field where
Combs had been killed.
Police found Buffington
standing in the field holding a
rifle over his head and yelling for
the officers to "come and get
him." After a brief negotiation,
September 19, Little Rock
The body of Marilyn
Mazique, 41, was found lying
beside the street in the 1300
block of West 32nd Street by a
father walking his daughter to a
school bus stop.
A neighbor told officers
that he had been awakened by
five or six gunshots in the street
shortly after 2:30 a.m. He went
outside and saw a rust-colored
1978 or 1979 model foreign car
speeding from the area.
Investigators
said
Mazique had been shot, her body
wrapped in a blanket and left
lying at the side of ~e street.
No arrests have been
made. There are no suspects.
ADG: 9/19
September 22, Little Rock
A home intruder shot and
killed Tiffanie Rush, 18. The
crash of her front door being
forced open had awakened her.
When she opened her bedroom
door to investigate the noise, the
gunman whirled and fired,
striking her in the chest. The
gunman then demanded money
from Derick Hardy, Rush's
boyfriend. The gunman also shot
at Hardy but missed. When he
fired again into the room, he
missed Rush's
2-week-old
daughter lying in a car seat at the
end of the bed.
Anthony Fletcher, 16,
was charged with capital murder.
He had pleaded innocent and is
being held on a $250,000 bond in
the Pulaski County jail.
ADG: 9/22, 9/23, 9/24
September 28, Hackett
James Gibson, 61, was
arrested after he called 911 and
said he had shot his wife to death.
Ginger Gibson, 51, was shot in
the back of the head with a .410caliber shotgun as she slept in
their bed. Gibson indicated that
the two had been having financial
problems and had been fighting
over the past few weeks.
Gibson is being held in the
Sebastian County jail. Charges
are pending.
ADG: 9/28
September 28, Little Rock
Bonnie D. Smedley, 70,
told her family she was going to
Muskogee, Okla., to clean and
refurbish a house she owned.
Police began a search when her
car was found with suitcase,
jewelry, eyeglasses and cleaning
supplies intact near a fishing spot
on the Saline River in Dallas
County.
Authorities
were
suspicious that foul play had
occurred because her billfold was
thrown into bushes, the vehicle
was nearly 50 miles from her
intended route, and the vehicle's
doors were locked.
Jackie Smedley, 61, said it
was not uncommon for his wife to
take long drives alone, but that he
had no idea what could have
happened to her. A witness told
officers that a pickup truck
matching one owned by Jackie
Smedley was seen near the car at
the river. Investigators had also
found blood matching Bonnie
Smedley's blood type inside the
home, in Jackie Smedley's truck,
in a garbage bag and on a shovel.
Page 11 •Transformation• Winter 2000
She is presumed dead.
Jackie Smedley was later
arraigned on a charge of seconddegree murder and released on
$25,000 bond. He was also
placed on electronic monitoring
and told not to leave the state.
The Smedleys had been married
about five years.
ADG: 9/28, 9/29, 10/8,
10/14, 10/22
October 4, Cotton Plant
See Violence Against the
Elderly--Vincie Nash.
October 15, North Little Rock
John A. Lacy, 31, was
charged with first-degree murder
in the slaying of Beverly
Henderson, 45, whose body was
found in a shallow grave outside
of Mayflower.
The evening of Oct. 6,
Henderson's
fiance, Jeffrey
Gallandt, called the manager of
the Park Lane Motel and asked
the manager to check a room he
had rented with Henderson.
Gallandt is an over-the-road
trucker who had called to check
on Henderson and who called the
manager after he had been
unable to reach his fiancee.
The motel manager found
the mattress soaked in blood,
blood on the walls and teeth on
the floor. Investigation revealed
that a bloody palm print on the
wall matched Lacy's palm print.
Lacy was questioned and
after he was read his rights, he
gave a taped confession. He
later
led detectives
to
Henderson's grave. No motive
was given for the murder but it
was reported that Lacy and
Henderson were acquainted.
Lacy is being held on a
$600,000 bond in the Pulaski
County jail.
ADG: 1-0/15,10/16
The eyewitness wrote
down the truck's license number,
which was traced to Hicks' truck.
Hicks is being held on
$200,000 bond in the Pulaski
County jail.
ADG: l 0/25, 10/26, 10/27
Octo her 25, Little Rock
Melissa Kaye Gunter, 29,
died after being pushed from a
pickup truck. Her boyfriend,
Clarence B. Hicks, 39, was
arrested on a first-degree murder
charge when he went to
Southwest Hospital to check on
her condition.
Gunter had
suffered serious head injuries
along with multiple abrasions.
About three hours before
her body was found, police had
talked with Gunter, who was
walking near Interstate 30 and
Scott Hamilton Drive.
A
motorist had called 911 and
reported a man and a woman
fighting in a truck near where
Gunter was walking. The police
reported that they did not see any
signs of abuse on Gunter and
asked her if she wanted to leave
with Hicks. Gunter allegedly
said she was not afraid of Hicks
and wanted to leave with him.
Shortly before 3 :00 p.m.,
the police were dispatched after a
witness reported seeing a man
shove a woman out of a moving
truck.
The witness reported
seeing "the driver ... lean over
and open the passenger door and
push a white female out." The
eyewitness estimated that the
victim rolled 30 to 40 feet before
coming to rest face down on the
west side of Auxer Road.
October 30, Wright
The partially clothed body
of a woman found by deer hunters
near the Lonoke County line was
identified as Valerie Christina
Roberson, 36, of North Little
Rock.
Jefferson
County
authorities declined to say if the
woman had been sexually
assaulted. A missing persons
report filed in North Little Rock
assisted
authorities
with
identifying the body.
At the time of the report,
the state Crime Lab had not
determined the cause of death.
ADG: 10/27, 10/30
November 15, Lonoke County
A couple discovered the
body of Kimberly Ann Burris, 20,
stuffed in a freezer in an
unoccupied house near Allport.
Her identity was not discovered
until
December
after
an
examination of her dental records.
Gary Martin, 33, of North
Little Rock. was arrested and
charged with conspiracy to
commit murder and kidnapping,
according to Lt. Frank Sturdivant
of the Lonoke County sheriff's
office. Authorities reported that
Martin and Burris had been in a
relationship.
ADG: 11/98, 3/99
Page 12 • Transformation• Winter 2000
November 30, Jacksonville
Police were seeking a
motive in the murder of Virginia
Charter, 38, who i's believed to
have been shot at close range by
her husband who later shot
himself.
The couple was
discovered
by Jacksonville
police after friends requested that
authorities check on them.
Lt. J.J. Martin said
"police were called to the house
last Tuesday because of a
domestic disturbance.
March
Charter was arrested that night
for third-degree
domestic
battery." Additional reports to
police were not made available
before the article was printed.
ADG: 11/30
December 13, Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff cheerleader
Dominique "Nicky" Hurd, 19,
and her boyfriend
Peter
Robertson, 21, were shot after
being abducted by Kenneth D.
Williams, 20, outside of the
Bonanza restaurant. Williams
approached then, offered to take
a picture of the couple, then
pulled out a gun and ordered .
them to get into the car and drive
to an automated teller. After
taking about $70 from them,
their jewelry, and credit cards
Williams ordered them to drive
to some woods. Williams left
them there but quickly returned
to get Hurd's pocketbook. There
was a brief exchange of words,
then Williams shot them both.
Hurd died several days after the
shooting at at Little Rock
hospital.
Williams was convicted
Property of the Ce11ter
of the murder of Hurd. He was
sentenced to life without parole.
ADG: 9/14/99, 9/15/99,
9/16/99
December 23, Jacksonville
Police found the body of
a Jacksonville resident, Jeri
Cherry, at her home on Tuesday
after her brother-in-law told
police that "he feared for her
safety."
According to Eugene
Cherry, Jeri's brother-in-law, he
went to the home earlier and his
brother met him in the yard
explaining that he and Jeri had
been fighting. The police were
notified after Eugene and his
wife returned to the house and no
one answered the door.
Police have arrested Jeri's
husband, Raphel Cherry, and
charged him with first-degree
murder.
Officers found no
visible signs of trauma, but it was
concluded that the victim
suffered from strangulation.
ADG: 12/23, 12/24
Violence/Climate of
Intolerance Against
Lesbians, Gay Men,
Bisexuals or
Transgendered Persons
January 29, Little Rock
A two-day sting operation
in Kanis and Reservoir parks
resulted in citations for 19 men
for either
public
sexual
indecency or loitering for the
purposes of deviant sexual acts.
Undercover officers reported they
either watched men cruising
through or caught men in their
early 20s to mid-50s exposing
themselves.
ADG: 1/29
January 29, Little Rock
After three attempts to
repeal the state's sodomy law
failed in the Arkansas Legislature,
Lambda Legal Defense and local
activists
filed
a lawsuit
challenging the constitutionality
of the law. Arkansas is one of six
states with sodomy laws that
target only lesbians and gay men.
The lawsuit was filed in
Pulaski County's Chancery Court
and named the attorney general
and prosecuting attorney as
defendants.
ADG: 1/29
January 30, Little Rock
Three men were charged
with engaging in overt sexual acts
during a three-day sting operation
in two Little Rock parks. Six men
were arrested on charges of public
sexual indecency. The names of
these nine men and the addresses
of most were printed in the
newspaper account.
Twenty-four men in all
were cited with public sexual
indecency and loitering for sex,
police said.
ADG: 1/30
February 5, Little Rock
On the same day that the
Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette
Page 13 • Transformation • Winter 2000
printed the names and addresses
of men arrested on sex-related
misdemeanor charges in an
undercover sting in' two of Little
Rock's parks, one of the men,
Gregory Palmer, committed
suicide with a shotgun blast to
the mouth. He left a note saying,
"My name and everything is in
the paper this morning. I'm
going to Angel and Muffin.
Good-bye. I love you." His
body was found in the garden of
the home that he shared with his
partner of 31 years. Angel and
Muffin were his two dogs who
had died just a few weeks before.
County Coroner Mark
Malcolm
said, "It's
our
determination
through our
investigation of the death that the
arrest and publication appear to
have played a significant role in
his death."
The GLAAD/Little Rock
chapter, in a letter to Frank
Fellone, deputy managing editor
of the Democrat-Gazette, pointed
out that when heterosexual men
were arrested in a prostitution
sting, the newspaper did not print
their names.
Fellone said the men's
names were newsworthy and
publication of the names was
consistent
with newspaper
policy.
GLAAD/Little
Rock,
Arkansas Times: 215, 2/20
February 27, Little Rock
Nineteen men were cited
for misdemeanor sex crimes in
two Little Rock parks during a
three-day undercover operation.
Fifteen were cited for
loitering for deviant sexual acts
in Kanis and Boyle parks. Four
men, whose names, ages and
addresses appeared in the
newspaper, were arrested and
charged with public sexual
indecency.
ADG: 2/27
February 28, Little Rock
Two men were cited with
misdemeanor sexual offenses at
Kanis Park by undercover Little
Rock police. A Little Rock man,
whose name, age and address
was printed in the newspaper,
was charged with public sexual
indecency. A Camden man was
charged with loitering for deviant
sexual acts.
ADG: 2/28
March 1, Fayetteville
A black Mazda 626 LX
containing three young men
pulled up next to a car with a
rainbow on it. The young man
on the passenger side asked the
driver of the stickered car, "What
does the rainbow on the back of
your car stand for?" She replied,
"Gay rights." The young man
then started screaming "F ...ing
fa ..ot" at her. The car he was
riding in seemed to swerve
toward her car and then speeded
up. The victim made note of
their Arkansas license plate:
085 BOK.
Then as the victim's car
approached Rolling Hills, the
harassers' car slowed down,
waited for her to come alongside,
and then the young man
screamed "g ..d... fu .." and other
obscenities and produced a
camera, saying he wanted a
picture of a gay. This kept up
until they approached the Mall.
The police were called and
said the young men had not
broken any laws as they hadn't
overtly threatened the victim.
The police said that although the
men had used abusive, hateful
language, it wasn't against the
law unless the police witnessed it.
The police said they would find
out who the car was registered to
and warn them that they were
walking a fine line--and that any
vandalism against any car that
might be gay supportive would
cause them to be among the first
suspects.
Victim's Account: 3/1
Violence and
Intolerance Against
Religious Minorities
No incidents of violence or
intolerance against religious
minorities were reported during
1998.
Violence Against
Children and Youth
Accidental Gun Deaths
February 19, Camden
Michael Hines, 14, was
shot and killed by his 13-year-old
brother as they played with a
Page 14 •Transformation• Winter 2000
loaded handgun. The brothers
had been alone in the house
when they found a loaded .38caliber semiautomatic pistol on
top of a dresser in their parents'
bedroom. They apparently took
the pistol outside the house
where it discharged as they
played with it.
Camden
Police
Lt.
Sherman Bell said that the 13year-o Id called emergency
workers to report the shooting.
Michael Hines was pronounced
dead at the hospital. No charges
are anticipated.
ADG: 2119
December 1, Cedarville
Roxanne Anerson, 7, was
fatally shot in the chest by her 9year-old brother, who retrieved
a .22-caliber rifle hanging from a
wall rack in the children's home.
The children were in an upstairs
bedroom when the shooting
occurred, while other family
members were outside.
The child pulled back the
rifle's action, observing no bullet
in the firing chamber. When he
released the action, a bullet was
loaded from the gun's magazine
into the chamber. While playing
with the gun, it fired, striking
Roxanne in the chest. Panicking,
the boy told the family that
Roxanne had fallen on a nail, but
doctors at a Van Buren hospital
determined that the young girl
was shot.
Cpl. Daymon Blount,
spokesman for the Crawford
County sheriff's office, reported
that the shooting was ruled an
accident and the young boy
would avoid prosecution.
ADG: 12/1
Homicides
January 13, College Station
Fredrick Earl Marbely,
17, died after being shot once in
the neck at Simmons Grocery.
Investigators found Marbely
lying in the grocery store's
parking lot and witnesses said a
black or dark brown Monte Carlo
left the lot immediately after the
shooting. Sgt. George Craig of
the Pulaski County sheriffs
office said that the slaying was
not a drive-by shooting. Marbely
apparently had been shot and
then pushed from a car onto the
parking lot.
Anthony Gibson, 22, of
Little Rock, turned himself in to
Pulaski County sheriffs deputies
after learning he was wanted on
charges in the death of Fredrick
Marbely. He pleaded innocent to
charges of first-degree murder
and kidnapping and is being held
on $250,000 bond in the Pulaski
County jail.
ADG: 1/13, 1/14, 1/15
January 26, North Little Rock
Shirley Eagle, 39, was
charged with first-degree murder
in the stabbing death of her 11year-old daughter, Laquanda
Eagle. Laquanda, who attended
Glenview Elementary School,
died of multiple stab wounds.
Laquanda's
9-year-old
sister called 911 from a
neighbor's house around 3:51 p.
m.
The neighbor, who lived
across the street, said the 9-yearold ran to her house screaming.
The mother followed her with a
knife but fell into a drainage ditch
outside the home, another
neighbor said.
The police believe that the
mother and daughter had argued.
The neighbor said that the 9-yearold told her that the family was
eating at the kitchen table when
the mother told Laquanda to iron
her school clothes. The younger
sister then went to her room but
the older sister remained in the
kitchen.
The 9-year-old then
heard her sister screaming.
Police found the victim
lying on the floor with stab
wounds to her upper body.
Shirley Eagle is being held
in the Pulaski County jail without
bond. She pleaded innocent to
the charge of first-degree murder.
Pulaski County Probate Court
records show that in 1989 and
again in 1992 the court was
petitioned to involuntarily commit
Eagle to the State Hospital. Eagle
was ordered to undergo a mental
evaluation to determine whether
she is competent to stand trial.
ADG:
1126, 1/27, 1/28,
3/24
February 5, Little Rock
On Feb. 3, an officer
dispatched to 2400 block of South
Gaines Street to investigate
gunfire found Anthony Robinson,
14, lying in the 2400 block of
Arch Street with a gunshot wound
in his back.
Robinson was
pronounced dead at University
Hospital. Police said that they
Page 15 • Transformation • Winter 2000
knew the victim by his street
name of "Cue" and that he had
reported gang ti~s.
Quentin Davis, 18, was
arrested and reportedly gave a
tape-recorded statement which
implicated him in the slaying.
He allegedly confessed to being
at the scene of the slaying and
being armed with a handgun. He
denied firing the gun and told
detectives that an "unknown
acquaintance" fired a weapon
several times at Robinson.
Davis is charged with firstdegree murder and is being held
in the Pulaski County jail on
$250,000 bond.
ADG: 2/5, 2/6
February 11, Hot Springs
The death of a Hot
Springs man, whose body was
found in a creek bed on Feb. 4,
has been ruled a homicide, Hot
Springs police said.
The body of Wess
Woods, 20, was spotted by a
motorist. He was face down in
the shallow creek beneath an
overpass of the Martin Luther
King Jr. Expressway.
A preliminary report
from the state medical examiner
said Woods' injuries resembled
those from impact with a vehicle.
Detectives and a State Police
accident reconstruction expert
concluded that Woods was
knocked from the overpass 57
feet into the concrete-lined creek.
They further concluded that the
vehicle might have been a pickup
truck because the injuries on his
back coincided with impact from
a vehicle of that height.
It wasn't known how long
the body was in the creek before
it was discovered, but Police Cpl.
Tim Hoover said, "It wasn't a
very long time at all."
ADG: 2/11
February 16, Pine Bluff
Grant Lee Mayon, an 18ye ar-o l d senior
and star
basketball player at Mills
University Studies High School,
died of multiple gunshot wounds
after being involved in an
altercation
at an all-night
convenience store. Mayon and
several youths from Little Rock
were apparently backing out of
the parking lot when their vehicle
almost struck a group standing
outside the store. James "Sonny
Man" Jenkins, 24, of Pine Bluff
allegedly then pounded on the
vehicle.
According to the police,
the Little Rock youths got out of
their vehicle and a fight ensued
on the parking lot. Store security
guards used a chemical spray to
try to break up the fight. At that
time, a witness told police,
Marcus Cannon, 21, of Pine
Bluff, allegedly pulled a handgun
from his clothing and fired into
the crowd. Mayon was shot at
least four times, once in the neck,
and his friend,
Marques
Blackmon, 19, was shot in the
back.
Security guard Darryl
Verse then pulled his gun and
shot the alleged gunman, Marcus
Cannon, once in the leg and once
in the abdomen.
In the
confusion
following the shootings, Mayan
and Cannon were loaded into
separate cars and rushed to the
hospital. The youths transporting
Mayan "got lost and ended up
near the Megamarket," said
police.
They then apparently
stopped for a sheriffs deputy who
called an ambulance. Mayon died
in the emergency room of the
hospital.
Police do not know how
many youths were gathered
outside the store. Lt. Steve King,
spokesperson for the Pine Bluff
Police Department, said there
were 40 to 50 people on the
parking lot at the time of the
shooting.
Marcus
Cannon was
charged with first-degree murder
in the death of Mayon and firstdegree battery in the shooting of
Blackmon. Bond has been set at
$100,000 and Cannon will be
moved from the hospital to the
Jefferson
County Detention
Center if his condition permits.
ADG: 2/16, 2/17, 2/19,
2/20
February 17, North Little Rock
Pulaski County sheriff's
deputies were called to a home at
15125 James Cutoff, where they
found the body of David Wood,
18, in the entryway. He had been
shot.
Sgt. George Craig said
investigators were interviewing
relatives and neighbors.
ADG: 2/17
March 22, Little Rock
William Wadlington Jr.,
20, was shot several times as he
Page 16 • Transformation• Winter 2000
left
Club
El Rancho.
Wadlington died during surgery.
Though he had been
affiliated with gangs -in the past,
his mother said, Wadlington had
given that up to enroll at the
University of Arkansas at Little
Rock. Family and friends said
they believe an altercation
between
individuals
not
connected to Wadlington led to
his death.
Kelly Lewis, 25, of North
Little Rock, was charged with
first-degree murder. He sought
the protection
of federal
marshals, saying that he feared
retaliation from gang members
for his alleged involvement in
the shooting. He is being held in
the Maumelle jail pending
sentencing on a federal drug
charge.
ADG: 3/22, 3/27
March 23, Fox
Roger Freeman, 15, and
at least two other teens had been
arguing with a fourth teen. The
confrontation escalated with the
shooting of Freeman by a 13year-old, who had hoped to scare
Freeman and his friends away by
getting a .20-gauge shotgun,
loading it, and firing it into the
au.
Instead of leaving, one of
the teens grabbed a cat that
belonged to the suspect's family.
At the same time, Freeman
walked toward the suspect. The
suspect lowered the shotgun and
fired, hitting Freeman in the face
from three to four feet away.
The suspect called the
Stone County sheriff's office.
He was taken into custody and is
being held at the Craighead
County Juvenile
Detention
Center, charged as a juvenile
with second-degree murder.
ADG: 3/23
March 23, Cabot
Motorists discovered the
body of James Randal Glover,
18, in a parking lot near a
Lonoke County bayou. He had
two small-caliber bullet wounds
to the leg and one in his back and
appeared to have been shot at the
parking area. A .32-caliber pistol
and spent shell casings were
found about 40 yards from the
body.
Jamie Paul Bowen, 17, of
Jacksonville was charged with
first-degree murder. He is being
held without bond in the Lonoke
County Detention Center.
Lt. Frank Sturdivant said
the motive appeared to be
revenge. "The two knew each
other from around town, and
Bowen had accused the victim of
burglarizing
his apartment
recently."
ADG: 3/23, 3/27
March 25, Jonesboro
Two boys, ages 11 and
13, shot and killed four girls and
a female teacher and wounded
nine other students and one
teacher as the students filed out
of the Westside Middle School in
response to a false fire alarm.
Killed were Natalie Brooks, 11;
Paige Herring, 12; Stephanie
Johnson, 12; Brittany Varner, 11;
and teacher Shannon Wright, 32.
Wounded were teacher Sara
Thetford, 42, and nine students:
Amanda Barnes, 13; Ashlee Betts,
12; Jennifer Jacobs, 12; Brittney
Lambie, 13; Candace Porter, age
unavailable; Christina Amer, 12;
Jenna Brooks, 12; Whitney Irving,
11; and Tristian McGowan, 13.
All except one of the wounded
students were girls.
The suspects who were
identified by students as Andrew
Golden,
13, and Mitchell
Johnson, 11, who were students at
the school.
Students said Golden had
bragged that he was going to
shoot all the girls who had broken
up with him.
Golden was
allegedly angry over his recent
breakup with a seventh-grade
girlfriend, who was one of 10
wounded students. Students also
said that Golden had gotten into
trouble the day before and was
angry with one of the teachers
who was one of the teachers later
shot.
Another student said
Johnson "told me yesterday that
all the people that broke up with
him, he was going to go to school
and kill them."
Golden and Johnson
allegedly pulled the fire alarm.
When about half of the more than
250 sixth- and seventh-graders
and some of the teachers were
leaving the building, the boys
began shooting from the woods
about 50 yards away.
The
boys
were
apprehended about 200 yards
from the school. Both had highpowered rifles with clips and
handguns, and were dressed "head
to toe" in camouflage clothing.
Also state police found a white
Page 17 • Transformation • Winter 2000
van believed to hold more guns
and ammunition parked near the
school.
Golden arid Johnson were
charged with five counts of
capital murder and 10 counts of
aggravated assault. They were
found guilty and sentenced to a
youth facility until the age of 18.
ADG: 3/25
December 10, Newport
Steven Allen Steggall of
Grubbs will serve a life sentence
without parole for beating to
death his 3-month-old daughter,
Haylee Brianne Stice.
Haylee was rushed to
Newport
Hospital
with
respiratory problems April 2 and
then
flown
to Arkansas
Children's Hospital, where she
died after being placed on life
support. Dr. Charles James, a
pediatric
radiologist
at
Children's, testified that· "the
infant suffered an extensive skull
fracture and broken ribs on both
sides of the body."
The death penalty was
waived, therefore life without
parole was the only available
sentence for Steggall to serve.
ADG: 12/10
Satanic Activity
January 13, Atkins
About
60 Atkins
residents attended the Atkins
School Board meeting apparently
because of their concern about a
"marriage to the devil," which
allegedly took place on the high
school campus last week. Robert
Travis, high school principal,
said he had talked with the
students supposedly involved,
who had denied any Satanic
activity.
In a television
interview, Travis suggested that
the reaction is possibly "a case of
sensationalism."
It was a hoax, said School
Board President Robert Hearne.
Hearne says parents were
understandably
concerned
because of recent shootings at
schools m Mississippi and
Kentucky, where supposed
satanic rituals popped up in some
reporting about the crimes.
Atkins
Chronicle,
Arkansas Times: 1/13, 1/23
December 7, Barling
Three stables
along
Arkansas 59 were the scenes for
knife attacks on 10 horses, nine
critically injured, one dead. Each
of the horses was stabbed in the
neck in what Barling Police
Officer Larry Croom called "very
cruel, hard to explain."
Croom owns two of the
horses wounded in the attack and
he owned the quarter horse that
died from an attack before
Thanksgiving. His stable is one
of the three that were involved in
the attack along Arkansas 59.
Authorities suspected that the
attack on Croom's quarterhorse
was an act of retaliation against
the police department or Croom,
but Police Chief Myron LaMore
stated that this attack "puts a
whole different light on it."
The attack drew national
attention and there was some
speculation that occult or satanic
activity may have been involved.
Authorities uncovered a shrine in
Crawford County that includes
carvings and effigies of horses
that have been stabbed, but they
have found nothing to link it to
the Barling attacks.
Police
spokesperson
Victoria Harris described an
eight-foot-tall cross with etchings
of a horse's head with a knife
sticking out of the forehead, tears
flowing from its eyes and a trail
of hoof prints. Two candles were
attached to the upright post of the
cross. An effigy of a horse made
of pine needles with a splinter
stuck in its chest and a noose
around its neck was hanging from
the cross.
ADG: 12/7
that morning to two residents.
Clara Killmore, 92, was
treated at the nursing home for
minor cuts and bruises around
her mouth and jaw that occurred
when Cakora allegedly forcefully
grabbed Killmore's jaw to insert
dentures.
Viola Wilson, 99, was
treated and released at a local
hospital for cuts on her scalp.
Cakora told police that Wilson
tried to hit her and became
combative after being put in a
wheelchair.
Cakora allegedly
took a comb from a night stand
and struck Wilson repeatedly on
the head.
Cakora told police that,
"She had to deal with a lot of
pressures during her shift." She
had worked at the nursing home
for about a year.
ADG: 2/28
Violence Against People
with Disabilities or
HIV/AIDS
March 9, Little Rock
William Duncan, 32, a
homeless man who uses a
wheelchair, was robbed of $12 in
downtown Little Rock. Duncan
told police that a man pushed
him out of his wheelchair at
Ninth and Main streets, took the
cash and fled.
ADG: 3/9
February 28, Mountain Home
Lonaya Cakora, 22, was
charged with one count each of
second-degree battery and abuse
of an adult for the alleged assault
of two elderly residents of the
Good Samaritan Village Nursing
Home, said Mountain Home
Police Chief Phil Frame.
The police were called by
officials of the nursing home on
the morning of Feb. 22 about
injuries that reportedly occurred
Page 18 • Transformation • Winter 2000
October 16, Jacksonville
The staff of Beverly
Healthcare and Rehabilitation
"reacted improperly when the
resident pulled out his feeding
tube twice on September 12 and
13," according to the department
spokesman.
The patient, Howard
Holderfield of Sherwood, died
September 14 in the emergency
room of the Rebsamen Regional
Medical Center nine hours after
being transferred there by staff at
Beverly. Although the patient's
name was printed, Human
Services Department declined to
confirm the victim's identity.
The facility had its
license revoked and was ordered
to pay the maximum fine of
$5,000. The office of Long Term
Care
submitted
Mr.
Holderfield's file to the state
attorney general's office for a
possible criminal investigation.
ADG: 10/14, 10/16
Violence Against
Aging Persons
(Non-Institutionalized
Elderly)
January 8, Little Rock
An elderly Springdale
couple reported to Little Rock
authorities that two masked
gunmen entered their hotel room
Tuesday night and robbed them
of $800 cash.
The couple, both in their
early 70's, were staying at the
Markham Inn when the robbers
entered
their hotel room
demanding money. The woman
was forced to bury her head in
the pillow while the other
gunman pointed his weapon at
the man's face and demanded all
of their cash.
The robbers identities
were disguised, but the couple
described black men wearing ski
masks, gloves and carrying small
handguns.
ADG: 1/8
January 12, Little Rock
An 86-year-old woman
was robbed after a man broke into
her home around 7 a.m. on
Sunday. The woman reported to
police that the robber entered her
home by kicking a hole in her
back door. He awakened her
from her sleep and threatened to
shoot her if she did not give him
money. He proceeded to take
$200 from her purse while she
was lying in bed.
ADG: 1112
April 12, North Little Rock
Leta Nolan, 93, told police
she'd gone to the bank to renew
some certificates of deposit.
While stepping from her car at
home with certificates in hand, a
man walked into her yard and
approached her. He asked for
directions. As she gave him
instructions, the man grabbed for
her purse. When she resisted, he
knocked her to the ground,
snatched the certificates from her
hand and ran.
ADG: 4/1
November 18, Cotton Plant
Vincie Nash, 73, was
found bludgeoned to death in her
home. Three children, ages 2, 3
and 5, that she baby-sat found her
body in the living room and tried
to awaken her.
One of the
Page 19 •Transformation• Winter 2000
children then went next door to
Police Chief Todd Brown's
home. His wife, Paula, another
of the town's 'police officers,
went with the child to Nash's
house and found the body.
State police arrested
Lawrence Dewayne Eirvin, 27,
and charged him with capital
murder, rape and robbery of Ms.
Nash on October 3. Police
spokesman,
Bill
Sadler,
explained that authorities had not
discovered Eirvin's link to the
murder.
ADG: 10/4, 10/8, 11/18
Activities of White
Supremacist Groups
January 26, Harrison
The Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan's participation in the
state's
Adopt a Highway
program will come to an end
because it failed to renew its
application. The Klan's sign had
been located on U.S. 65 about 12
miles south of Branson, Mo.
"That's news to me," said
Nathan Robb, son of Thom
Robb, national director of the
Klan. Robb said that in the four
years since the Klan has been
cleaning up its stretch of U.S. 65,
a dozen signs announcing that
fact have been stolen or
vandalized.
Residents of the State
Line RV Park, on whose
property the southbound sign
was posted, say it created a
traffic hazard and led to more
littering.
ADG: 1/26
March 23, Spokane, WA
Guns used in some of the
22 robberies that investigators
attribute to the Aryan Republic
Army came from Chevie Kehoe
and his father, Kirby Kehoe.
Chevie Kehoe and two
co-defendants, Faron Lovelace
and Danny Lee, are accused in a
federal racketeering indictment
in Arkansas of forming a group
called the Aryan People's
Republic. Kehoe and Lee are
also charged in the robbery and
killing of an Arkansas gun dealer
and his family in 1996.
The bound bodies of
William Mueller, 53, his wife,
Nancy, 28, and her 8-year-old
daughter, Sarah Powell, were
found in Illinois Bayou near
Russellville six months later.
Authorities
said the
Aryan Republic Army hoped to
foment a race war and overthrow
the government using money
obtained in the robberies. Six
members have been convicted in
bank robberies in Ohio, Iowa,
Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska,
Kansas
and
Kentucky.
Investigators
believe
the
robberies netted $250,000.
Memorial
Day Weekend,
Harrison
Patriots Day Picnic at the
Soldiers of the Cross Bible
Camp, sponsored by the Church
of Jesus Christ, to provide
participants with fellowship,
Bible preaching and teaching,
and an opportunity to "learn
more about your White Christian
heritage."
July 18, Pulaski, Tennessee
The
National
Homecoming and White Christian
Heritage--Culture
and Craft
Festival was held m the
downtown courthouse square.
Booths to display white cultural
crafts or celebrating White
Christian heritage or heroes were
allowed. The plans for the day
included a parade and then a
cross-burning ceremony.
August
31-September
4,
Harrison
Christian
Leadership
School was open to all ages 16
and above and offered Biblical,
historical and racial topics of
study.
September 4-6, Harrison
The National
Klan
Congress was held at the Soldiers
of the Cross Bible Camp. J.B.
Stoner, Dr. Ed Fields and Ralph
Forbes were scheduled as
speakers.
According to the
publicity materials, J.B. Stoner is
the director of the Crusade
Against Corruption and "one of
the first to recognize that AIDS is
a racial disease." Fields is the
publisher of The Truth at Last, the
oldest continuously publishing
white supremacist newspaper in
America. Ralph Forbes ''worked
closely with the renowned patriot,
George Lincoln Rockwell" of the
American Nazi Party.
Anti-Government
Activity
No incidents of anti-government
activity were reported during
1998.
Anti-Abortion Violence
February 19, Little Rock
James Dawson, 67, of
Vilonia, was cited for allegedly
claiming he had planted a bomb
at the Little Rock Family
Planning Services.
Two
construction
workers who were pouring
concrete behind the building told
police that Dawson said he'd
"planted a bomb on them" about
8:30 a.m.
Agents from the FBI and
federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms were
called but no bomb was found.
The clinic was the site of
a bomb scare last year when a
Ryder rental truck that had been
rented by another abortion
opponent was left parked outside
of it. No bomb was found and
no charges were filed in that
bomb scare, although it is still
reportedly under investigation.
Dawson was cited for
threatening a fire or bomb, a
Class A misdemeanor, and
released. If convicted, he could
face up to a year in jail and a
$1,000 fine.
ADG: 2/19
♦♦♦♦♦♦
Page 20 • Transformation • Winter2000
Property of the Ce1:ter
Can You Help?
The Women's Watchcare Network is dependent upon
a steady flow of information
about in~idents
of biasmotivated violence and the activities of organized groups of
white supremacists, neo-Nazis,
and anti-government groups. To
gather this information, we read
and clip Arkansas newspapers
and obtain the statements of victims.
What do we need in order to document violence in Arkansas?
We particularly need
clippings from newspapers,
other than the Little Rock newspapers, relating to the murders
of women and children, violence due to sexual orientation
or gender identity, violence
against people with disabilities,
violence against people because
of their religion, and the activities of groups such as the Klan,
Aryan Nations and other exclusionist militias. If you are able
to send a clipping, please write
the name of the newspaper and
the date of the article.
Published four times a year
by the Women's Project,
2224 Main Street, Little Rock,
Arkansas, 72206.
Phone: 501-372-5113
email: wproject@aol.com
http://www.womens-project.org
If leaflets, pamphlets or
flyers are handed to you, put under your windshield wipers, or
thrown on your property by
groups espousing racist, antiSemitic, sexist or homophobic
philosophies, please send them to
us, along with the place you received it (e.g. home, work, grocery store) and the date you received it.
If you are a victim of harassment or violence - or you
know someone who is - please
call and give us a report of the incident. Your account will not be
published without your permission. However, even if we do not
publish your report in our annual
log, we can use the statistical information to share with other national anti-violence projects, in
our efforts to affect public policy
and improve services to the victims of hate crimes.
If you would like to volunteer, or if you have some other
ideas of ways of combating violence, please call us at the
Women's Project:
501-372-5113 (voice)
501-372-6853 (TTY)
501-373-0009 (FAX)
wproject@aol.com
Transformation
Editor & Report Author
Production
Art Director
Dee Dee Green
Felicia Davidson
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge
those who contributed· to the
1998 Women's Watchcare Network newsletter: Stacy Brod,
Yvonne Croston, Denise Dorton,
Amy Edgington, Lynn Frost,
Eunice Gardner, Beth Jacobs,
and Judy Matsuoka; as well as
all of our members, friends, and
supporters for their continued
support in the struggle toward
achieving social change.
Transformation is also
available as an ASCII file
and on audiotape.
• Printed on recycled paper.
*
Stacy Brod
Letters to the editor are welcome.
©2000 The Women's Project
Page 21 • Transformation • Winter 2000
Women's
Project
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Little Rock, Arkansas
Permit No. 448
2224 Main Street
Little Rock, AR 72206
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Berland Sister Resources
2312 NW 39th
Oklahoma City OK 73112