Man killed while
driving backhoe
A man died after his backhoe was struck by another vehicle Sunday in McGehee, state police reported Tuesday.
Brian Morgan, 29, of Lake Village was driving a backhoe on U.S. 65 north of Old Tillar Highway about 11:20 a.m. when the backhoe was hit from behind. Morgan was tossed from the backhoe. He was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, where he died Tuesday.
The other vehicle went off the road and struck a tree before overturning, state police said. The driver, Wendell Black, 62, was also taken to Jefferson Regional for treatment.
Conditions were sunny and dry when the crash occurred.
- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE2 plead innocent in deadly shootout
TEXARKANA - Two of three men accused of capital murder in a February shootout in a Texarkana house pleaded innocent Tuesday morning in Miller County.
Anthony Sean King, 21, and Joel Edward Hill, 22, appeared in cuffs and shackles before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom for arraignment in a courtroom at the Miller County jail.
The men are charged in the Feb. 25 shooting of Demarquis Reeves, 25.
Devin White, 21, remains in a hospital recovering from bullet wounds he suffered in the gunfight.
King and Hill are being held in the Miller County jail without bail. Prosecuting Attorney Carlton Jones said White will be taken into custody once he’s well enough to leave the hospital.
- TEXARKANA GAZETTE
6.19-carat jewel found by parkgoer
A man who made Murfreesboro his home after learning of the Crater of Diamonds State Park when he saw it featured on The Travel Channel’s Best Places to Find Cash and Treasures program found a 6.19-carat white diamond there Tuesday, the park said in a Wednesday news release.
David Anderson first visited the park in 2007 and now hunts regularly for diamonds in the park’s 37 ½-acre search area. Anderson named the clear, white marquise-shape diamond he found Tuesday the Limitless Diamond after the 2014 motto for the charitable organization Speed the Light.
He plans to donate proceeds from the sale of this diamond to Speed the Light, the release said.
Park Interpreter Waymon Cox said in the news release, “The Limitless Diamond is about the size of a jelly bean, and it’s the 15th-largest diamond found at Crater of Diamonds State Park since 1972. It is also the largest white diamond we have registered in three years since the 8.66-carat Illusion Diamond was discovered in April 2011 by Beth Gilbertson of Salida, Colorado.” - ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTEAide chosen to fill county judge spot
CAMDEN - The Ouachita County Quorum Court has selected the former county judge’s administrative assistant to fill the county judge position until an election.
The Quorum Court had announced a vacancy for the position of county judge after former County Judge Mike Hesterly’s resignation, which went into effect April 3. Hesterly is awaiting a trial set for July 14 on charges involving accusations he awarded Federal Emergency Management Agency cleanup funds in exchange for a campaign contribution.
Amy Varner-Olvey, the Ouachita County judge’s administrative assistant, was selected to act as judge until the conclusion of the county elections and was sworn in as judge by Ouachita County Clerk Britt Williford during Tuesday’s meeting.
She was among three applicants for the position; the two others were Gene Jeffress and Bill Braswell.
- CAMDEN NEWS
Slain mom-to-be filed abuse reports
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A pregnant Springfield woman who was found dead in her home had reported being a victim of domestic assault several times in the past.
Court records indicated Jessica Conner, 26, suffered what appeared to be several stab wounds before she was found dead last Friday at her home. Police reports indicate she had blackened eyes and dried blood under her nose.
Police spokesman Lisa Cox said Wednesday that no one has been arrested in the case.
Greene County prosecutor Dan Patterson said Conner had reported being a victim of domestic violence many times in recent years, with several different suspects.
The Springfield News-Leader reported Patterson’s office filed charges on some of the cases, but Patterson said Conner would not cooperate in recently filed cases.
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 04/18/2014