1 killed in wreck
with parked truck
A Kentucky man died Thursday when he crashed his tractor-trailer into a parked tractor-trailer in Prairie County, according to a preliminary Arkansas State Police report.
A 1992 Kenworth was parked on the right shoulder of the Interstate 40 westbound lanes about 3:40 a.m., state police said. A 2006 Freightliner was headed west in the right lane when the driver, James Davis, 27, crossed the white line, and the vehicle hit the parked tractor-trailer, state police said.
Davis died of his injuries, and the Kenworth’s driver, Evelio Rodriguez, 23, of Maryland, who was in the truck’s sleeper, was taken to Baptist Medical Center in North Little Rock, state police said.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
NLR man arrested
in August slaying
A North Little Rock man was arrested Thursday in connection with the August death of a 69-year-old man, police said.
Shawn Pilcher, 29, was arrested at a home in Gravel Ridge and charged with capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, felony property theft and felon in possession of a firearm. He was taken to the Pulaski County jail.
Police said Pilcher was arrested in the shooting death of George Zumwalt.
On Aug. 11, two cyclists riding the trails in a wooded area on Batesville Pike found Zumwalt’s body under the first bridge after Maryland Avenue near a creek, police said. He was found with head trauma, police said, adding that he died of a gunshot wound.
No further information was available late Thursday.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTEOzan man declared mentally fit for trial
HOPE - An Ozan man accused of shooting an Arkansas State Police trooper during a traffic stop has been found mentally fit to stand trial.
Herman Lee White is charged with first-degree battery of a law enforcement officer for the March 2012 shooting of Cpl. Pete Penney.
An affidavit said Penney pulled over White between Ozan and Nashville, and the two exchanged gunfire.
Both men suffered gunshot wounds that weren’t life-threatening.
The Hope Star reported that Circuit Judge Duncan Culpepper found that White is capable of understanding the proceedings against him. The judge also found that White understood “the criminality of his conduct” at the time of the shooting.
Trial is set for Nov. 18.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTeen says innocent in death of girl, 11
BLYTHEVILLE - An Arkansas teenager accusedof killing an 11-year-old girl has pleaded innocent to firstdegree murder.
Christopher Sowell, 17, pleaded innocent to the charge Thursday. He’s due back in court Oct. 14, and his trial is set for Nov. 12.
Sowell is accused of killing 11-year-old Jessica Williams. Authorities found the girl’s body in a ditch near Gosnell last month.
Sowell was previously ordered to be held in jail in lieu of a $2 million bond.
A Mississippi County sheriff’s office document states Sowell acknowledged killing Jessica. That document says Sowell said he choked Jessica and pushed her over the side of a bridge.
Sowell’s attorney, John Bradley, and prosecutor Scott Ellington declined to comment because a judge has issued a gag order in the case.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPolice seize candy
infused with ‘pot’
JOPLIN, Mo. - A southwest Missouri drug task force has seized bags of candy infused with marijuana.
John Luckey, with the Southwest Missouri Drug Task Force, said the candy was shipped from Colorado to Pineville, in McDonald County. However, no one lived at the Pineville address.
Luckey said officers hoped someone would try to pick up the package, but no one ever did. He said the candy resembled lemon drops, gummy bears and mints.
It was clearly labeled with how much THC was in each piece. THC is the chemical that makes pot users high.
Luckey said he’s concerned children will pick up the candy.
The Joplin Globe reported Barry County Sheriff Mike Epperly displayed bags of the candy Thursday at his office in Cassville to make parents aware of the products.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESSMan guilty of killing pregnant girlfriend
POTEAU, Okla. - A jury in eastern Oklahoma has convicted a Spiro man of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend.
The jury deliberated almost seven hours Thursday before convicting 27-yearold Christopher Kenyon Simpson in the death of 20-year-old Ka’loni Flynn of Fort Smith. The Southwest Times Record reported that the jury recommended the maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Formal sentencing is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 8.
Prosecutors allege that Simpson shot Flynn twice in the head because he did not want another child to support. A DNA expert testified that Simpson fathered the fetus.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 09/28/2013