Timothy Clevenger, accused of killing his wife, deliberately violated his pretrial house arrest, a chief condition of his $200,000 bond, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson ruled Monday.
Johnson revoked Clevenger's bond, ordering the 62-year-old Little Rock man to remain jailed until he can post $30,000 bail. If he gets out again, Clevenger can only leave his home to go to work -- once he provides the court with proof of employment -- or to meet with his lawyer, the judge said.
"You cannot leave the house ... unless you're working ... unless you're meeting with your attorney," the judge told Clevenger.
He is accused of beating to death his wife of more than 30 years in a Labor Day 2018 attack at the couple's west Little Rock home. During the course of the proceedings, Clevenger's lawyers have said the 56-year-old mother of three, Margaret "Meg" Clevenger, died from an accidental fall but have also said the couple's son has admitted to a role in her death, a claim prosecutors dispute.
Clevenger spent the past week in jail after prosecutors reported he had repeatedly violated his bond conditions. Monday, senior deputy prosecutor Jeanna Sherrill showed the judge logs from Clevenger's ankle monitor that showed Clevenger had made trips to Hot Springs and North Little Rock.
Clevenger did not testify at Monday's hourlong hearing but his attorney argued the 62-year-old first-degree murder defendant did not intentionally disregard the judge's orders about his pretrial release.
Public defender Lou Marczuk said a misunderstanding involving Clevenger and Clevenger's previous lawyer led to Clevenger inadvertently contravening the judge's order prohibiting Clevenger from leaving his home, with the sole exception being to assist his now ex-lawyer prepare for trial.
But the judge rejected that assertion, noting that he twice told Clevenger what his pretrial release conditions were, first at the January 2021 hearing when his bond was set at $200,000, then again last May, about a week after Clevenger made bond. Each time, Clevenger was told he was under full-time house arrest and only allowed to leave to meet with his lawyer, the judge said. Further, Clevenger doesn't appear to have consulted with Marczuk about the conditions of his release, the judge said, instead relying on someone who was not his legal counselor.
"I believe he knew what he was doing. Twenty-four hours is 24 hours," the judge said. "He heard the court."
Clevenger's former lawyer, Patrick Benca, testified he had not understood that the judge intended Clevenger's release conditions be so stringent, stating that in his 24-year career he's never had a client subjected to a 24-hour curfew that doesn't allow the client to hold a job or go to church.
"I've never had anyone who was under [absolute] house arrest," Benca told the judge.
Benca testified he advised Clevenger mostly based on his memory of what the judge had ruled, pointing out it took 15 months for Clevenger to actually make bond. He told the judge he always knew where Clevenger was and what he was doing, even though Clevenger stopped being his client in March.
Benca said he had made promises to the judge that he would act as a custodian or guardian for Clevenger if the defendant made bond, telling the judge he felt he had to live up to those guarantees, despite no longer being Clevenger's attorney. To that end, Benca said he has helped Clevenger find temporary jobs then full-time work as well as providing Clevenger with a place to live.
"He's staying at my office ... which is where I told the court he would be," Benca said. "I'm trying to get him a job. I'm trying to get him a phone. I felt obligated to be a ... custodian based on what I told Judge Johnson."
The proceedings against Clevenger are on hold until the Arkansas Supreme Court can decide who will represent him. Benca quit as his attorney in March when the judge refused his request to delay the proceedings, with the judge turning the case over to the public defender. The judge subsequently denied Clevenger's request to reinstate Benca as his lawyer, prompting an appeal to the high court to decide who will represent him at trial.