The Hot Springs lawyer whose involvement with a candidate for governor ended his campaign is wanted by law enforcement in a 2012 slaying that occurred outside her home.
Garland County authorities have issued warrants for the arrest of Andrea Davis, 36, and her brother Matthew Davis on manslaughter charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Maxwell Anderson in Andrea Davis’ driveway Feb. 29, 2012.
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel withdrew from the state Democratic Party’s gubernatorial race early last year after he acknowledged an “inappropriate” relationship with Andrea Davis.
Neither Andrea Davis nor her brother had been arrested as of early Tuesday night, according to the Garland County sheriff’s office.
Her attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, said that he had made arrangements with the special prosecutor appointed in the case, Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady, for his client and her brother to surrender at an unspecified time this week.
Casady signed the warrants Monday. He was appointed special prosecutor in December because of Davis’ position as an attorney in the Garland County legal community.
In addition to the manslaughter charge, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Andrea Davis is also charged with one count of the use of a communication device while “causing or facilitating” a felony act, also a Class C felony.
Since the warrants had not been served, little detail was available on the more than two-year-long investigation or what led investigators to seek warrants for the siblings’ arrest.
Garland County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Hinojosa said only that deputies had warrants for the Davises’ arrests.
Casady’s office said he wouldn’t discuss the case at this point in time.
On Feb. 29, 2012, deputies went to Andrea Davis’ 251 Ledgerwood home after getting a 911 phone call from Davis.
When deputies arrived, they found her and Matthew Davis, whom they identified as a suspect in their initial reports, both “sitting outside along with” the body of Anderson.
Arkansas State Police investigators were called in to help with the inquiry, and both Andrea Davis and her brother were taken from the scene in handcuffs and questioned.
According to state police spokesman Bill Sadler, state criminal investigators helped the sheriff’s office early on with examining the crime scene and processing evidence, and they returned to help county investigators in compiling the paperwork that went to Casady before the warrants were issued.
Davis’ law license was suspended last month under an emergency order by the state panel that disciplines attorneys. The Feb. 21 suspension came a little more than a month after she was arrested by Garland County sheriff’s deputies and charged with two counts of felony theft of property.
Requests for those arrest reports, as well as the warrant affidavits, were not fulfilled by either the Garland County sheriff’s office or the Garland County District Court clerk’s office Tuesday.
Rosenzweig pointed out that his client did not contest the suspension and was focused on reducing several “stressors” that she was dealing with at the time.
In October 2012, a child-custody filing by Davis’ ex-husband in Garland County Circuit Court accused Andrea Davis of having an affair with McDaniel.
In January 2013, McDaniel, who was the presumed Democratic front-runner to replace Gov. Mike Beebe in the 2014 election, admitted to meeting Davis in 2010 and to having an “inappropriate” relationship with her. McDaniel soon ended his campaign.
Several hundred text messages between Davis and McDaniel were handed over to investigators working the Anderson killing, but according to past statements from McDaniel, he had no involvement in the Anderson-death investigation.
Rosenzweig said that, despite not having seen the charging documents, he’s confident his client and her brother will be cleared of wrongdoing.
“There will be a time and place for [discussing the timeliness of the investigation],” Rosenzweig said. “Any and all charges will be fought vigorously and we expect that both Davises will be fully vindicated.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 03/26/2014