TEXARKANA -- An Arkansas Department of Correction inmate accused of beating a female correctional officer to death in the Miller County jail kitchen last month was serving time for shooting his mother and an uncle in 2010.
Tramell Mackenzie Hunter, 27, was being held at the Miller County jail as part of the Act 309 program, which allows prison inmates to serve some of their sentences in county or city jails. Hunter is accused of attacking officer Lisa Mauldin about 1 p.m. Dec. 18 in the jail's kitchen, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The document said Hunter used his hands to inflict fatal injuries on Mauldin. After incapacitating Mauldin, Hunter encountered officer Damaris Allen as he tried to leave the kitchen.
"Hunter struck Allen in the face, knocking her to the floor," the affidavit states. "Hunter then struck Allen with her portable radio. Hunter dropped the radio and struck Allen with his fist several times. Hunter then ran out of the kitchen and was apprehended in the hallway by other detention deputies."
In 2011, Hunter was given a 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery and two counts of felony domestic battery as part of a plea bargain in Pulaski County, court records show. Case documents acquired Tuesday by the Texarkana Gazette show that Hunter's convictions stem from a Jan. 27, 2010, confrontation at a relative's home in Little Rock.
Hunter shot his uncle when the uncle tried to stop him from stealing his mother's car, then fired a second shot, striking his mother, before driving away in her rented Dodge Charger, according to case records. Hunter's mother and uncle survived after undergoing surgeries.
Hunter told investigators that he intended to kill himself when his funds were exhausted. Hunter reported that he left town and switched the plates on the car after spending a couple of nights in Texarkana, then headed to the Houston/Galveston area in Texas, records state.
Hunter surrendered Feb. 10, 2010, to police in Galveston after running out of money and finding himself unable to kill himself, records state. A pearl-handled revolver with a defaced serial number that Hunter claimed to have used during the shooting of his mother and uncle was found in the stolen car, records state.
But Hunter's history of violent behavior did not prevent him from being assigned to Miller County as an Act 309 work inmate. The 309 program is intended to ease prison crowding and reduce incarceration costs, according to an Arkansas Department of Correction website and a Correction Department administrative directive on the Act 309 Program.
The city or county jail is reimbursed for the cost of housing an Act 309 inmate.
Inmates assigned to jails as part of the Act 309 program are typically given more freedom to move about and work than other inmates and are generally considered low-risk. An Act 309 work inmate is permitted to work outside the prison walls and in the community under the supervision of jail officials. Correction Department spokesman Solomon Graves said Hunter was in Miller County as an Act 309 work inmate.
As long as a Correction Department inmate hasn't had a disciplinary infraction for at least 90 days and has served a minimum of six months in prison, there are few restrictions on admittance to the program. The administrative directive states that inmates with convictions for capital murder, first-degree murder, sexual offenses, or escape, or inmates who have attempted those offenses, are ineligible for the Act 309 in-jail or work inmate program.
An inmate convicted of kidnapping, a second offense of aggravated robbery or an attempt to commit those offenses is not eligible for Act 309 work status, according to the administrative directive. According to court records, Hunter's 2011 aggravated robbery conviction was his first and only conviction for that offense.
The sheriff, police chief or an authorized law enforcement officer "may refuse" the assignment of any Act 309 inmate to his facility, according to the administrative directive.
Hunter was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. However, a hearing was rescheduled for next month. Little Rock lawyer Ron Davis has filed notice that he has been retained to represent Hunter.
Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black said her office, which handles criminal cases in Miller County, has not yet received an investigative file from the Arkansas State Police in the case. Hunter's arrest warrant charges him with capital murder and first-degree battery. Black said her office will determine what charges Hunter will face once the investigation is complete.
Hunter is being held in the Varner Supermax Unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction.
State Desk on 01/13/2017