LR man says guilty to July 2012 killing
A Little Rock man who once claimed self-defense in a fatal shooting pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the July 2012 killing on Thursday.
Deputy prosecutor Hugh Finkelstein said Stephon Deshawn Cole of Little Rock accepted a 25-year prison sentence, which will be followed by a 10-year sentence, for the slaying of 21-year-old William Blundell.
Blundell was found unconscious with a head wound in the middle of the night in southwest Little Rock and died about 45 minutes after police discovered him across from the Exxon station at the intersection of Geyer Springs Road and Interstate 30.
A friend told police he had last seen Blundell about five hours before police found him and described hearing shots about that same time.
Investigators learned that Blundell had been feuding with someone in the neighborhood. Cole, who lived at the neighboring Woodhaven Apartments at 7510 Geyer Springs, became a suspect after police talked to his girlfriend.
Cole told police he “might have shot and killed a guy accidentally,” arrest reports state.
In an interview with police, Cole said he shot Blundell in self-defense after arguing with the man.
Arrested two days after the killing, Cole also led detectives to the gun he used.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Unidentified body found in burnt SUV
TEXARKANA - Authorities in Miller County are trying to identify a person whose body was found in a burning sport utility vehicle.
Arkansas State Police said Thursday that the agency was called at 4:30 a.m. about the vehicle burning in a dry creek bed on U.S. 67, about 15 miles northeast of Texarkana.
Shreveport television station KSLA reported that the fire obliterated the SUV’s registration, license plate and vehicle identification number.
The burned vehicle appears to be a 2002 or 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer of undetermined color.
An autopsy is pending, and investigators said they hope the state medical examiner can identify the victim.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESSOne dead, 5 injured at club in Stuttgart
STUTTGART - Authorities are investigating a brawl at a Stuttgart nightclub in which one person was killed and five others injured.
The violence broke out early Sunday at Casey’s Warehouse, where police say 32-year-old Albert Goodloe died from a gunshot wound.
The Stuttgart Daily Leader reported that three of the injured had been shot, one was stabbed and one was beaten.
Assistant Police Chief Steven Bobo said all five victims received treatment at area hospitals. Their names haven’t been released.
No arrests have been made.
Bobo said investigators have had trouble eliciting information from witnesses and asked that people who know what happened contact police.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Man free, no bail
in cyclist’s death
AUGUSTA - A 21-yearold man accused of driving into and injuring a group of bicyclists traveling through Arkansas on a cross-country trip has been released on his own recognizance.
Prosecutors filed paperwork last week charging Teagan Ross Martin of Newport with negligent homicide after one of the cyclists died this summer.
Martin also faces one count of careless and prohibited driving and 13 counts related to overtaking a bicycle.
Martin’s lawyer, Jack Lassiter, said Thursday that his client appeared before a judge in Augusta on Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance. Martin is due back in court Sept. 19.
Merritt Levitan, 18, of Milton, Mass., died from her injuries after the July 2 crash near McCrory. Several other cyclists were hurt.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Man pleads guilty
in rent-help fraud
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.
- A former Joplin man has admitted to helping defraud a rental-assistance program out of nearly $4,000 by falsely claiming to be a landlord who rented properties to clients displaced by the May 2011 tornado.
Prosecutors said 36-yearold Christopher L. Smith, now of Memphis, could face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday in federal court in Springfield.
Smith admitted signing two applications to the Missouri Housing Trust Fund disaster relief program in June or July 2012 and receiving payments totaling about $3,900, even though he wasn’t a landlord, property manager or mortgagee entitled to the funds.
A co-defendant pleaded guilty last month to his role in the scheme. Both will be sentenced after a pre-sentence report is completed.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTulsa park request
for grant rejected
TULSA - Federal transportation officials say Tulsa’s bid for $14.8 million to improve a major thoroughfare along the Arkansas River is a nonstarter.
Tulsa wanted a “TIGER” grant to help fund a $40 million project slated for a portion of Riverside Drive, but Thursday’s announcement by federal officials doesn’t mean the project is dead. Voters will have a chance to weigh in Nov. 12.
City leaders envision a large park on the east side of Riverside Drive and significant changes to green space west of the roadway.
The proposed work along Riverside Drive includes widening the lanes and adding a tree-lined median.
TIGER grants are named for the “Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery” program. They are awarded annually.
Fifty-two projects were picked this year out of 568 applications.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 09/07/2013