The state in brief

Jail officers find inmate dead in cell

LITTLE ROCK — A Pulaski County jail prisoner was found dead of an apparent suicide in a single-person cell Tuesday evening, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office. It was the lockup’s first reported suicide since 2016.

Mark Peacock, 45, was found during a routine security check just before 5:30 p.m., and jail staff members immediately began lifesaving measures, the release said. The release said Peacock was found hanging in the cell.

Peacock was pronounced dead minutes later by the lockup’s medical team, according to the release.

North Little Rock police documents say Peacock was arrested Sunday evening on assault charges after police entered a house at 4511 N. Magnolia St., and subdued him with a Taser. Peacock was in the process of divorcing, reports say.

Peacock smelled of intoxicants and was shouting profanities at his wife and the officers, according to the report.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Cawyer named to state position

LITTLE ROCK — Former Columbia County Assessor Sandra Cawyer has been appointed as the director of the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division, state Finance and Administration Secretary Larry Walther announced Tuesday.

Cawyer started work Monday in her new job, which pays $108,110 a year, said finance department spokesman Scott Hardin. The Assessment Coordination Division is part of the Department of Finance and Administration.

Bear Chaney, who is a former Benton County assessor, said Tuesday he retired as division director at the end of March.

The Assessment Coordination Division works with county assessors to promote and oversee fair, equitable and uniform property tax treatment for all taxpayers, local government officials and school districts, according to the finance department.

“Sandra has the experience and relationships needed to understand the role property taxes play in Arkansas, and I am excited to have her leadership and perspective at DFA,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a news release issued by the finance department.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Hot Springs man arrested in slaying

HOT SPRINGS — Police arrested a 20-year-old man Tuesday in the shooting death of a man found dead in a car Saturday morning, according to a news release.

Christopher Gipson of Hot Springs was charged with capital murder in the death of Tristan Smith, 23, of Hot Springs, whose body was found in the back seat of a car at Mica and Maiden streets around 10 a.m. Saturday.

Gipson also is charged with aggravated robbery and theft by receiving. He was being held Wednesday without bail, according to the Garland County jail online roster.

According to the news release, police responded to the intersection of Mica and Maiden regarding a welfare check on a car parked there with a man inside. Officers found Smith deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

In a news release on Monday, Cpl. Joey Williams, the department’s public information officer, had said detectives were following up on several leads and interviewing witnesses and asked for anyone with any information about the incident to call police.

— THE SENTINEL-NEWS

Man killed in fire in Texarkana ID’d

TEXARKANA — A man who died in a house fire early Sunday on Preston Street has been identified as 36-year-old Anton Robinson of Texarkana.

Robinson was in the home with his mother, Wanda Robinson, 67, and his brother, Kedrick Robinson, 38, when the fire started about 6:25 a.m. Sunday, said Texarkana Fire Marshal Jim Wall.

Wall said fire investigators believe the cause of the fire was an electrical problem. He said an electrical outlet was the origin, and there was a pile of combustibles near the outlet.

Two rooms of the house were destroyed, and the rest of the house received extensive smoke damage, he said.

Wall said Kedrick Robinson helped his mother escape through a window.

“He tried to help his brother out and couldn’t get back in for the smoke and the fire,” Wall said.

Wanda Robinson and Kedrick Robinson were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.

Wall said the family had contacted the American Red Cross to help find a place to stay.

— TEXARKANA GAZETTE

Bid to bar evictions in pandemic tabled

LITTLE ROCK — City directors Tuesday delayed a vote urging a moratorium on evictions during the corona-virus pandemic.

The resolution, spearheaded by Ward 2’s Ken Richardson, urges owners and managers of residential rental properties to “halt evictions at every stage of the process,” suspend late fees for rental payments and not report missing or late rental payments until the state of emergency has been lifted.

The resolution also calls on Gov. Asa Hutchinson to issue a statewide moratorium on evictions, late fees and reporting of late or missing payments, and to establish an emergency fund to help tenants who cannot pay rent because of the public health crisis.

But some city directors worried that the resolution did not have any teeth in it. City Attorney Tom Carpenter said the resolution carries no sanction and is only as powerful as the “moral authority” of the board making an encouragement to residents.

“This is something that we’re giving false hope to people who are in a very sad situation. We’re sitting up here passing something that makes them think that we’re really doing something,” At-large City Director Joan Adcock said.

— ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

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