Prosecutor to recuse; son of Arkansas officer cited

POCAHONTAS -- Randolph County's prosecuting attorney has asked to be recused from prosecuting the son of a Pocahontas police officer accused of killing a man during an altercation.

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Third Judicial Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce said Monday that he has asked for a special prosecutor to eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest after James "Dexter" Yancy, 24, was arrested for fatally shooting Nick Dwayne Dawson, 28, of Pocahontas on Saturday morning.

Randolph County Circuit Judge Kevin King set Yancy's bail at $10,000. Yancy will be charged with manslaughter once a new prosecutor is named, Boyce said.

Boyce did not name the officer who is Yancy's father. He said he asked for a special prosecuting attorney to review the case before charges are filed.

According to an arrest affidavit filed Monday in Randolph County Circuit Court by Arkansas State Police investigator Wendall Jines, Yancy shot Dawson during a fight at 1407 Broadway in Pocahontas where both men live.

Yancy told Jines that he shot Dawson in self-defense and "feared for his life" after the two became involved in a physical altercation. Jines wrote in the affidavit that Yancy admitted to using methamphetamine before the fight.

"Yancy had no physical signs of having been in a life-or-death struggle with Dawson, who by all accounts was a friend of Yancy's," Jines wrote in the affidavit. "Yancy acted in a manner that was reckless, which ultimately caused the death of Dawson."

State Desk on 08/18/2016

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