Turner lawyers want prosecutors booted from Fayetteville trail attack case

Richard Turner, 33, Lowell, WASHCO, kidnapping
Richard Turner, 33, Lowell, WASHCO, kidnapping

FAYETTEVILLE -- Attorneys for a Lowell man accused of assaulting two women on a north Fayetteville trail last fall want the entire Washington County Prosecutor's Office disqualified and a special prosecutor appointed because a deputy prosecutor is expected to be a witness if the case goes to trial.

Richard Leroy Turner, 34, has pleaded not guilty in Washington County Circuit Court to charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and second-degree battery. Prosecutors Wednesday amended the charges against Turner to drop the battery charge but add a potential habitual offender sentencing enhancement based on Turner's prior convictions.

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Source: Staff report

Turner is being held at the Washington County Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 bond. Trial is set for Nov. 16-18.

In their motion, the defense says Seth Creed was at Lake Fayetteville riding a bike the day of the alleged assaults and called in a report to Fayetteville police. The motion argues since Creed is a witness, he cannot prosecute the case.

"Because Seth Creed must be disqualified, The Model Rules of Professional Conduct requires that all members of the prosecuting attorney's office be disqualified," Charlcee Small said in the motion."

Deputy prosecutors Terra Stephenson and Brian Lamb concede Creed won't prosecute the case. But they argue the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct don't require an entire prosecutor's office to be disqualified when a deputy is a witness in a criminal case.

"The general rule is that an attorney should not act as both trial counsel and material witness for a client," according to the response. "Mr. Creed's only involvement with the case will be testifying at trial due to being a happenstance witness. There is no conflict of interest and there is no valid argument that the Fourth Judicial District Prosecutor's Office is acting improperly by remaining on the case as prosecutors."

The response also notes the state is the prosecutor's only client and a victim isn't a client of the prosecutor's office nor a party to a criminal case.

The response says Creed saw a news report about an assault on the trail where he'd been biking. He called a police tip line to report he'd seen a man matching the description released by the media. After Turner's arrest, Creed identified him from a police photograph as the man he saw on the trail.

Turner's next court appearance is set for Nov. 16 before Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor.

Police said they found Turner, who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, by using DNA evidence from sunglasses he left at the scene.

April Robertson, 28, of Springdale reported an assault at 2:22 p.m. Sept. 13, 2015. Robertson is a reporter for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Robertson told police she was jogging alone when a man ran up behind her and tackled her, according to an arrest warrant affidavit from Washington County Circuit Court. The man punched Robertson on the head and face then dragged her into the woods, police said.

Robertson was able to get away and call 911.

Earlier the same day, another woman jogging on the same trail ran away from a man who attacked her about 6 a.m., according to police.

In late September, a court-ordered psychological exam found Turner competent to stand trial. The psychiatrist's report found Turner had no mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged conduct and he had the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and conform his conduct to the law. He told doctors he didn't remember the incidents on the trail.

NW News on 11/04/2016

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