FAYETTEVILLE — Three men and a woman pleaded guilty Wednesday and were sentenced to prison for being involved with a shooting last summer on Boxley Avenue.
Stephan Perkins and Andrew Wilson-Moore fired shots, according to Washington County prosecutors. Kenyatta Perkins and Walter Green tampered with evidence. All entered plea bargains with prosecutors.
Legal Lingo
Plea Bargain
A negotiated agreement between a criminal defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to some crimes, along with possible conditions, in return for reduction of the severity of the charges, dismissal of some of the charges, or some other benefit to the defendant.
Source: uslegal.com
“What we have done and will continue to do is get those people who were most culpable, those who introduced guns into this argument between two factions,” said Washington County Prosecuting Attorney John Threet. “The Fayetteville Police Department did a great job of clearing away all the smoke and figuring out what really happened.”
Threet dismissed any claims of self-defense.
“It’s not going to be self-defense when you’re in an argument and both sides have guns; that’s what the police are for,” Threet said.
Officers were called at 5:15 p.m. June 14 to a report of shots fired near a residence in the 1200 block of North Boxley Avenue, just off Wedington Drive.
Cruz Conley, 23, of Fayetteville was shot in the arm and torso during the incident. Police said Wilson-Moore shot Conley. Conley was later arrested.
Prosecutors said at least three guns were used.
Ten people were arrested in connection with the incident by the time the investigation wrapped up, according to prosecutors.
Stephan Perkins, 27, pleaded guilty to first-degree battery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Perkins is also considered a habitual offender. He was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. Police said Perkins was grazed during the shootout.
Perkins was initially charged with being an accomplice to attempted capital murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and engaging in a criminal group activity.
Wilson-Moore, 25, pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to first-degree battery and hindering apprehension. He was sentenced to 27 years and six months at the Arkansas Department of Correction. Prosecutors said Wilson-Moore brought a gun to one of the participants.
Wilson-Moore was initially charged with being an accomplice to attempted capital murder, engaging in a violent criminal group activity and hindering apprehension.
Kenyatta Perkins, 34, pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence. She was sentenced to four months at the Arkansas Department of Community Correction, five years supervised probation and fined $1,000. Prosecutors said Perkins used bleach and a screwdriver to alter one of the guns used in the shooting.
Perkins was initially charged with hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence.
Green, 31, pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was sentenced to 12 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction. Prosecutors said Green was in the street picking up shell casings after the shoot-out.
Green was initially charged with being an accomplice to attempted capital murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence and engaging in a criminal group activity.
Trial dates were reset to March 27 for Cruz Conley, Bethany Green, 27, Brandon Conley, 32, Travis Coleman, 42, Adrian Smith, 35, and Tony Anthony McDonald, 40.
Green, Coleman, Smith and McDonald are charged with hindering apprehension. Green is also charged with tampering with evidence.
Brandon Conley is charged with accomplice to attempted capital murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and is considered a habitual offender.
Cruz Conley is charged with accomplice to attempted capital murder.
The Boxley shooting was one of four in Fayetteville during a period of several weeks during the summer.