TEXARKANA — A man facing a charge of criminally negligent homicide after being accused of running over and killing his wife will undergo a mental evaluation, a Miller County judge has ruled.
Lucas Connor McCarley, 35, of Texarkana is accused of causing the March 3, 2016, death of 35-year-old Casey McCarley.
Public Defender Matt Stephens told Circuit Judge Brent Haltom that he is concerned that a traumatic brain injury McCarley previously suffered could be affecting his mental state. Stephens asked Haltom to order an evaluation to determine if McCarley is criminally responsible for his behavior and whether he is fit to proceed to trial.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell asked that the evaluation be performed by staff at the Arkansas State Hospital, and Haltom agreed.
Proceedings in Lucas McCarley’s criminal cases, including the negligent homicide charge and motions to revoke two existing probations, will be put on hold until the court has received a report detailing the findings of the evaluation. McCarley was suspected to have been under the influence of methamphetamine the night of Casey McCarley’s death, authorities said.
Casey McCarley pulled her car in front of her husband’s truck about 1 a.m. after spotting him riding with another woman on Miller County Road 22, according to a probable cause affidavit. When Casey McCarley got out of her car to confront her husband, Lucas McCarley ran her over as he tried to get away, the affidavit said. When Miller County sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found Casey McCarley dead in the middle of the road with a blue tarp covering her body, authorities said.
Deputies noticed a glass pipe in a cup holder in the front of Lucas McCarley’s truck, the affidavit said, and next to the pipe was a silver metal wallet suspected to contain methamphetamine and prescription pills.
An Arkansas State Police investigator who interviewed Lucas McCarley at the Miller County jail shortly after Casey McCarley’s death said he suspected that Lucas McCarley was under the influence of methamphetamine.
Lucas McCarley refused to submit a blood or urine specimen, the affidavit said.
The negligent homicide charge is typically punishable by five to 20 years in prison, but the state seeks to increase the punishment to five to 30 years because of McCarley’s previous felony convictions.
He also faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges are usually punishable by up to six years in prison, but the state seeks to increase the maximum punishment for both of those charges to 12 years.
Lucas McCarley was on probation on the day of his wife’s death.
On June 10, 2014, McCarley pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and to theft of property. The breaking-and-entering offense occurred Oct. 17, 2013, and the theft was committed Dec. 22, 2013.
According to motions to revoke Lucas McCarley’s probations, he failed to report to his probation officer for six months beginning in September 2015. The motions also said he committed new criminal offenses, failed to make any payments toward fines and court costs, and used drugs.