CONWAY -- Three people charged with capital murder face a pretrial hearing March 21 in the Nov. 23 shooting death of a Vilonia man.
V̶a̶n̶e̶s̶s̶a̶ Vennessa* Ann Lyons, 24, Keenan Beacham, 21, and Johnny Lee Reed Jr., 32, all of Conway, were charged Friday in Faulkner County Circuit Court in the slaying of Gary Phillips, 53, of Vilonia. Phillips previously was identified as a Conway resident.
Lyons also is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, a felony. Beacham is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by certain persons, also a felony.
Under Arkansas law, capital murder is punishable by death or by life in prison without parole.
Police affidavits filed with the charges indicate police believe that Lyons and Reed were participating in an armed robbery and that during the course of that robbery, Beacham shot and killed Phillips. The affidavit against Lyons quotes Reed as saying two children -- Lyons' daughter and stepdaughter, ages 1 and 10 respectively -- were in the vehicle with Lyons and Beacham when he, Reed, got into it just after the shooting.
According to witness statements in the affidavits, Phillips had hoped to buy an illegal synthetic drug often used as an alternative to marijuana. The shooting took place in the parking lot of The Draft, a Conway restaurant.
All three suspects have a pretrial hearing March 21 in Faulkner County Circuit Court. They are jailed without bail.
State Desk on 02/01/2017
*CORRECTION: One of three people charged with capital murder in the Nov. 24 shooting of Gary Phillips, 53, of Vilonia is Vennessa cq SGAnn Lyons, 24, of Conway. A previous version of this article incorrectly spelled Lyons’ first name.