Jury finds Hot Springs man guilty of murder

HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and sentenced to 65 years in prison in a 2012 shooting at an area bar.

After a two-day trial in Garland County Circuit Court, the seven-woman, five-man jury deliberated for about one hour before finding Alan Ray Edwards, 59, guilty of first-degree murder in the Sept. 3, 2012, shooting death of James Toby Fowlks, 46, of Hot Springs and of attempted first-degree murder for firing two shots at Teresa Williams, a bartender at the Pop-A-Top Tavern on Park Avenue.

The trial was presided over by Judge John Homer Wright. After a separate sentencing hearing, the jury deliberated for an hour before recommending a sentence of 40 years on the murder charge and 10 years on the attempted murder charge, to run consecutively. The jury also found that Edwards used a firearm in the commission of the offense, which added 15 years to his sentence.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joe Graham said Edwards would have to serve 70 percent of the 65-year sentence, or at least 41 years, before he was eligible for parole, but noted that he would be given credit for time served since his arrest the day of the shooting. He had remained in custody in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Graham said he was "very pleased" with the verdict and sentence. He said that in light of Edwards being caught at the scene and on a video of the shooting that was shown to the jury, the only question to answer had been his mental state at the time.

Testimony revealed that Edwards and Fowlks had been in an earlier altercation at the bar that same day, during which Fowlks punched Edwards and then Edwards left. Edwards returned 20 minutes later armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and killed Fowlks, shooting him twice.

Dr. Daniel W. Dye, associate medical examiner, testified Thursday that the victim had two gunshot wounds to his torso, with one shot entering the upper right side of his back and exiting his left armpit, and the other shot striking in his chest near the right armpit and traveling across his upper torso.

He said shotgun pellets punctured his left lung and also severed his spinal cord, causing instant paralysis.

"Either wound would have been rapidly fatal, and certainly both together was fatal," he said.

Edwards' attorney, Louis Loyd of Malvern, had argued the defense of mental disease or defect. One of the two witnesses to testify on Edwards behalf was a psychiatrist, Dr. Albert Kittrell, who said Edwards was suffering from a psychotic disorder at the time of the shooting.

"He had a delusional belief where he believes something is real that isn't real," he said, noting Edwards was apparently "hearing voices" at the time.

Kittrell said he believed Edwards was suffering from the mental defect beginning in 2008 and was still suffering from it when he first evaluated him in August 2013.

He said Edwards had a "diminished ability to deal with stressful situations," adding that Edwards had recently lost his job and had to make the decision to take his severely ill sister off life support, followed by his mother's death.

"When bad things happened, he would take them personally and blame himself and punish himself," he said.

Under cross-examination by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joe Graham, Kittrell admitted he couldn't diagnose Edwards with a specific disorder and that he examined him only for the purpose of appearing for the defense.

Kittrell also acknowledged that at the time of the incident Edwards had the capacity to know right from wrong and had the ability to conform his conduct but believed he was acting in self-defense.

He said Edwards told him he went back to the bar to find the person who had injured him to make them pay for whatever it would cost to treat him.

Dr. Paul Deyoub, a forensic psychologist, testified in rebuttal that while Edwards suffered from a mixture of anxiety and depression, he didn't have a mental disease or defect or any kind of psychotic disorder.

"He may have had some unusual feelings and some confusion about his life," Deyoub said, but "there was no evidence of sustained symptoms of psychosis."

Edwards' wife, Beverly Edwards, testified that they had been married for 26 years and he was "a good man."

She said the loss of several family members and "having to make the decision to pull the plug" on his sister were really hard on him. She also noted he had worked at Weyerhaeuser for 32 years, and when the plant closed and he lost his job, "he was devastated."

"He was very kind. Always anxious to help people," she said. "This has just been a nightmare. I never saw this coming."

State Desk on 05/23/2014

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