STAR CITY — Gould remains in limbo.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt declared a mistrial Tuesday in a case against Gould Mayor Earnest Nash, who faces charges that would remove him from office if convicted.
The mistrial means the town’s 837 residents will likely have to wait until next year for any movement among their political leadership, which is stuck in gridlock.
The City Council is short two members and is divided over the mayor, making the city difficult to govern. The recorder-treasurer, meanwhile, says the mayor has locked her out of her office and that she cannot do her job.
The mayor says the council can resolve that issue. Meanwhile, the city continues to struggle over paying everything from its telephone bills to salaries.
Nash’s retrial likely will be early next year, Wyatt said.
The only reason the judge gave for Tuesday’s mistrial declaration was that “some evidence presented was improper.”
Prosecutor Kyle Hunter of Pine Bluff also declined to discuss specifics.
“All I can say is that the court ruled that some evidence introduced today was improper,” Hunter said.
Nash, 43, said afterward that he felt good: “I just wanna get back to work.”
The mayor still faces all charges leveled against him by the state: a felony count of second-degree forgery, two misdemeanor charges of nonfeasance in office and one misdemeanor count of obstructing governmental operations.
The forgery charge is related to a bank account Nash opened to store emergencyrelief funds the city received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management after flooding in Gould, deputy prosecutor Wayne Juneau of Pine Bluff told jurors during his opening statements Monday.
Nash’s attorneys — Gene McKissic of Pine Bluff and Hank Bates of Little Rock — said the mistrial was over questioning of state witness Scott Bass of the Emergency Management Department about the emergency funds.
“They asked [Bass] if it was improper for the mayor to have spent FEMA money,” McKissic said. “It was a surprise to the defense, because in pretrial, the state said they would not bring that to court as an issue.”
The nonfeasance and obstruction charges against Nash are related to Gould Recorder/Treasurer Pam Barley-Gibson. Prosecutors contend that Nash prevented Barley-Gibson from entering her office at City Hall, although she had been legally selected to serve in the position by a majority of the Gould City Council.
Juneau told jurors Monday that after former Recorder/ Treasurer Mary Prewett resigned from office in December, the council voted in January to replace her with Barley-Gibson — a move Nash quickly vetoed.
The council then overrode Nash’s veto and reinstated Barley-Gibson in its February meeting, Juneau told the jury.
“At this time, Gibson was the legal recorder/treasurer for the city of Gould,” Juneau said.
The City Council then requested that Nash provide keys to Barley-Gibson, but when she arrived at City Hall to get them, Nash told her to leave because she was not the city’s legal recorder/treasurer, Juneau told the jury.
On Feb. 21, a locksmith was called to open the recorder/ treasurer’s office, but “Nash shows up and tells [Barley-Gibson] that she is not the recorder/treasurer, then he argues with her, grabs her and pushes her out of the office. He locks the door, and she has not been back at her office since,” Juneau said.
In July, a judge found Nash guilty of one misdemeanor charge of third-degree battery over the altercation. He was fined $615.
Monticello locksmith Glen Palmer testified Monday and in the July trial against Nash that he witnessed the mayor “sling [Barley-Gibson] across the room.”
Palmer further testified that the scene at City Hall on Feb. 21 was “a big mess. Everyone was yelling and screaming at one another.”
Palmer said Barley-Gibson had told him that she had a court order to unlock the doors to her office, though no such order existed, prosecutors said.
Bates said Monday that Nash questioned the legality of the February meeting at which Nash’s January veto of Barley-Gibson’s appointment was overridden by four of six aldermen.
Bates said Nash was not at the February meeting, and that Nash was concerned that the meeting wasn’t properly called under the state’s openmeeting requirements.
Bates also said that Nash questioned the location of Barley-Gibson’s primary residence, noting that she has a home in Star City in addition to Gould.
A photo that appeared to be of a small mobile home was admitted into evidence as Barley-Gibson’s Gould address.
Further, Bates said, Nash questioned the legality of the votes of two Gould aldermen — Harry Hall and Rosieanna Smith-Lee — who have since been removed from office.
Hall was removed because of a felony conviction; Smith-Lee was removed because she didn’t reside in the ward she was elected to represent.
Nash said it’s up to the City Council to appoint replacements. But replacement aldermen have not been selected because the City Council has not had a quorum since the two were removed.
The mayor has called several emergency meetings to deal with filling the alderman positions, though only two of Gould’s remaining four aldermen — Essie Cableton and Ermer Preston — have attended.
Alderman Veronica Tensley, who testified Monday, said she hasn’t attended the meetings because “there hasn’t been an agenda.” Tensley also said she wasn’t notified of one of the meetings.
Alderman Sonja Farley hasn’t attended the meetings either, citing her health.
Outside the courthouse after the mistrial declaration, Barley-Gibson said she still hasn’t been allowed access to her office.
She offered little comment on the developments, saying only: “I am just so upset right now I could spit.”
When asked if he would provide Barley-Gibson access to her office, Nash deferred to his City Council.
“It’s up to them,” he said. “It’s out of my hands.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 09/26/2012