Dennis found guilty of capital murder

Darrell Dennis exits a Pulaski County Circuit Court room as the jury deliberates on the second day of his murder trial on Thursday, May 21, 2015.
Darrell Dennis exits a Pulaski County Circuit Court room as the jury deliberates on the second day of his murder trial on Thursday, May 21, 2015.

Darrell Dennis was convicted Thursday in the 2013 kidnapping and killing of an 18-year-old Fayetteville man.

Dennis was charged with capital murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping in the death of Forrest Abrams, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as life sentences for the other charges that he will serve concurrently.

The attorneys proceeded to closing arguments without the jury hearing testimony from Dennis.

After Judge Chris Piazza instructed the jury on deliberation, Deputy Prosecutor Marianne Satterfield talked to the jury about how the law applies to Dennis' charges.

Satterfield said that the only "sacrificial lamb," a term used by Dennis' attorney Tom Devine to describe Dennis, was Abrams.

Devine during his closing argument for the defense said that Dennis is the "sacrificial lamb" and that Hodges was not a reliable witness because he was "drunker than Cooter Brown" the night Abrams died.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Johnson told the jury that Tyler Hodges, who Dennis was convicted of robbing and kidnapping, remembered the important events from the night Abrams was killed.

"If Tyler was the only witness, you would have more than enough proof to convict him," he said.

Hodges testified that he was visiting family in Little Rock in May 2013 when he met Abrams at the home of a mutual acquaintance. Hodges said he had been at Cajun's Wharf restaurant celebrating a graduation and had five shots of tequila, four or five beers, and later took two Xanax "bars" and LSD where he met Abrams.

Hodges said the drugs and alcohol didn't affect his ability to remember Dennis approach him for money in a gas station parking lot where Abrams had taken Hodges to purchase cigarettes. During opening statements Wednesday, Devine questioned whether Hodges could accurately recall what happened that night.

Hodges testified he remembers Abrams letting Dennis into the front passenger seat and then the two of them talking and exchanging drugs. He said at some point, Dennis starting driving Abrams' car after he held Abrams and Hodges at gunpoint and took their wallets.

Hodges said Dennis ordered them into another vehicle somewhere in Little Rock where they met two other men. Dennis threatened to kill Abrams and Hodges if they didn't give him money, Hodges testified.

Dennis, along with the two men and Abrams and Hodges, drove to a bank where he attempted to withdraw money from Hodges debit cards, Hodges testified. He said he knew there was no money in his bank account, but he told Dennis "whatever he wanted to hear."

Hodges said he told Dennis he had money at his cousin's house, where he was visiting, and Dennis drove the vehicle to Booker Street. One of the men pointed a gun at Hodges' back and walked him to his door, where he was able to escape into the home, Hodges testified.

Dennis kept Abrams in the car as "collateral" in case Hodges didn't bring him any money, Hodges said.

Hodges called 911, he testified, and was notified that Abrams body had been found before he was interviewed by police.

Hodges told police the man who kidnapped and robbed him and Abrams had a "honey mustard" yellow complexion. He identified him originally from a bank surveillance photo, then picked him out of a photo spread shown to him by police.

He was shown five photo spreads with 30 total photos of potential suspects, Hodges testified. Hodges told Devine he did not see anyone else with that coloring in the photo spreads he was shown.

Mary Simonson, an Arkansas Crime Laboratory forensic scientist, testified that Dennis' DNA was not found in Abrams' vehicle nor on Hodges' debit cards. The state's Chief Medical Examiner Stephen Erickson testified that Abrams died of four gunshot wounds in his back.

The jury started deliberating about 3:15 p.m. Thursday. They deliberated for about 45 minutes before finding Dennis guilty on all charges.

See Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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