FORT SMITH -- A Barling man pleaded innocent Wednesday in Sebastian County Circuit Court to charges in the killing of a jogger.
The Sebastian County public defender's office entered the plea for John Suleski, 24, after Circuit Judge James Cox appointed the office to represent him.
Cox accepted the prosecutor's recommendation and set Suleski's bond at $500,000. He has been held in the Sebastian County jail since his arrest Saturday.
Suleski was charged Monday with first-degree murder and first-degree unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. Cox told Suleski during his arraignment that both offenses were Class Y felonies carrying penalties of 10 to 40 years or life in prison.
Suleski is accused of shooting Brent Morrison, 44, as the Fort Smith man ran past Suleski's vehicle, which was parked off Wells Lake Road at Chaffee Crossing early Saturday. Police say Suleski drove to Chaffee Crossing to shoot himself because of marital problems but instead shot Morrison as he ran by.
Police responding to the 911 call of a motorist who spotted Morrison's body in the road found that he had been shot twice in the chest and once in the back of the head.
Suleski remained at the scene after police arrived. Later, when questioned by police, he confessed to shooting Morrison, authorities said.
Suleski is a staff sergeant with the 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard. He is a photojournalist in the public affairs office. He has been with the 188th for just more than a year and had previously been an active-duty Marine.
According to obituary information from Edwards Funeral Home in Fort Smith, Morrison was born in Little Rock and worked for Aerotek in Tulsa.
He loved running, biking, his friends and his wife, Dianne, the obituary said. Morrison was a member of the Spa Pacers in Hot Springs and Western Arkansas Runners in Fort Smith.
A memorial run for Morrison has been scheduled by Western Arkansas Runners for Saturday morning at Chaffee Crossing.
"That's where we run," Western Arkansas Runners President Sheri Nicholls said. "We don't want this to be a detriment to runners in the community."
The memorial run is open to anyone, she said. Runners, walkers and cyclists will gather at 6:30 a.m. at the Wells Lake parking lot across from the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, Nicholls said. After a moment of silence, participants will head down Wells Lake Road to a memorial site where Morrison was killed and where people can leave mementos or flowers, then head back to the starting point.
Metro on 07/16/2015