Roadwork to close I-540 bridge lanes
FORT SMITH -- Road crews inspecting an Interstate 540 bridge at Fort Smith will need to close some travel lanes next week.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said Friday that the southbound lane of I-540 across the Arkansas River between Van Buren and Fort Smith will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Tuesday.
If the weather is bad, the work will be pushed back.
The bridge was built in 1967 and is nearly 3,400 feet long.
More information is at www.idrivearkansas.com.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Man pleads guilty in cousin's murder
YELLVILLE -- A Marion County man accused of fatally shooting his cousin last year pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Joseph Leo Saylors, 31, of Lead Hill pleaded no contest in Marion County Circuit Court on Wednesday in the Nov. 17, 2013, shooting death of Jody Rogers, 42. Prosecutors originally charged Saylors with first-degree murder.
Saylors' trial was scheduled to begin in January. First-degree murder carries a sentence of 10 to 40 years or life in prison.
"I thought this was the best disposition for the case," Marion County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kenford Carter said of the negotiated plea.
Marion County Circuit Court documents filed Thursday show Saylors was ordered by Marion County Circuit Judge Gordon Webb to pay $970 in fines and costs. Webb also suspended five years of the sentence, making April 15, 2029, the earliest release date for Saylors.
Johnny Nichols, a Harrison attorney who defended Saylors, did not return a telephone message Thursday.
-- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Inmate sentenced to life files appeal
The oldest of two brothers sentenced to life in prison in the 2012 murder of a co-worker at a Mexican restaurant has submitted his appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Kiywuan Perry, 26, who began the appeal of his June sentences for capital murder and aggravated robbery, should be set free, according to his attorney, who argues that Perry was convicted without substantive physical evidence and with testimony from accomplices who received lesser charges.
Perry and his brother, Zackeya Perry, 21, were convicted in 2013 in the killing of Jesus Herrera at the now-shuttered El Chico restaurant on Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock.
A getaway driver, Quantez Dobbins, as well as the mother of Kiywuan Perry's child, Kenya Smith, also were charged in the crime but received shorter sentences.
Attorneys for Perry argued that the testimony of others involved in the crime was not credible and also argued that Perry's defense should have been allowed to present the jury with "interrogatory verdict forms," which would let the jury rule on whether the other witnesses were accomplices.
Both Perry brothers remain in prison.
-- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Pine Bluff man dies after SUV overturns
A Pine Bluff man died Wednesday afternoon from injuries suffered in a one-vehicle wreck that occurred earlier that day in Jefferson County, Arkansas State Police said.
Earl Wright, 50, was driving south in a 2002 GMC Envoy after exiting Interstate 530 when his vehicle left the roadway at 11:51 a.m. and overturned several times, state police reported. Wright was ejected from the vehicle.
He was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, where he died at 12:55 p.m.
Conditions were clear and dry at the time of the wreck, state police said.
-- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Propane explosion claims 3rd fatality
LAKE CITY -- A third person has died after a Craighead County house explosion in November that seriously injured others.
The Jonesboro Sun reported Ellis Eaton, 49, died this week at a Memphis hospital. Craighead County Assistant Chief Deputy Justin Rolland said a gas leak inside the home caused the Nov. 29 explosion. Slade Owen Gilley, 11, and Deborah Gilley, 64, died after being trapped inside the home.
Rolland said the explosion occurred while Eaton helped hook up a gas line to a propane tank.
Shelby Gilley, 12, was treated for serious burn injuries at a Memphis hospital and released. Gary Gilley, 60, was in critical condition Thursday at a Memphis hospital.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NW News on 12/13/2014