BENTONVILLE -- A Siloam Springs man was stopped from jumping over a staircase railing outside a courtroom at the Benton County courthouse after his bid for a new trial was denied Thursday morning.
Jamaal Dulane Simpson appealed his conviction on drug-related charges, claiming Circuit Judge Robin Green erred when she denied him a mental competency hearing before his trial started in December 2013.
The Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled in February state law requires a trial court to hold a competency hearing if someone challenges the competency findings. Simpson's case was returned to Green's court for a competency hearing.
Simpson, 34, appeared in Green's court Thursday morning, where she found he was competent at the time of his trial.
Immediately after the ruling, Simpson left the courtroom with a Benton County Sheriff's Office deputy quickly trailing behind him. Dressed in a black and white jail uniform, Simpson had his arms chained at his waist and had chains on his ankles.
The deputy told Simpson to stop, but he didn't, said Keshia Guyll, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.
The deputy was able to grab the chains on Simpson as he attempted to jump over the railing just outside Green's third-floor courtroom. The deputy was able to pull Simpson down as another deputy arrived to help, Guyll said.
Neither the deputies nor Simpson were injured.
Sam Martin, deputy prosecutor, said he heard a commotion, but by the time he made it outside the courtroom deputies had restrained Simpson.
Green only had to decide the competency issue Thursday, Martin said. Simpson could have been sent to Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock to restore his mental fitness if Green had found he wasn't competent to stand trial.
Simpson was found guilty of delivery of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia in December 2013. Prosecutors also charged Simpson as a habitual offender because he had five felony convictions.
Simpson was accused of purchasing 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover deputy for $175.
A jury recommended Simpson be sentenced to 40 years in prison for the cocaine delivery and 25 years for possessing paraphernalia. The jury recommended that the sentences be served consecutively.
Green sentenced Simpson to 65 years in prison.
Simpson must serve at least 14 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
NW News on 04/17/2015