ROGERS -- A former Benton County circuit judge and state legislative candidate was jailed Friday after being found in criminal contempt.
Jon Comstock, 72, was sentenced to five days in the Benton County Jail after Rogers District Judge Chris Griffin found him in criminal contempt. Griffin suspended 4 1/2 days of the sentence, so Comstock was supposed to be released Friday evening.
Griffin was conducting bond hearings at the county jail and Comstock went to watch the proceedings, said Sarah Moore of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition.
Moore and Beth Coger, another coalition member, spent Friday morning at the jail checking on Comstock.
Moore said she was texting with Comstock and knows he objected because he couldn't hear the proceedings. She said Comstock objected again and it was her last contact with him.
"They arrested Jon for trying to have access to Benton County bond hearings despite weeks of letting them know and them telling him how to attend," Moore said. "He was allowed to sit outside the room behind a glass where he couldn't hear. When he challenged that, they arrested him."
Moore and Coger went to the jail's lobby area to try to speak with Comstock, but were denied access by a jail employee.
Meyer Gilbert, chief deputy of the Sheriff's Office, arranged for Moore and Coger to speak with Comstock by telephone. The two spoke with him from the lobby of the Sheriff's Office.
Comstock is scheduled to be released at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Gilbert said. Gilbert said Comstock is being held in a location by himself in the booking area.
"He's just sitting back there by himself and we will release him when it's time," Gilbert said.
The jail doesn't normally have room to hold misdemeanor prisoners, but Comstock was held since he was committed by the judge, Gilbert said.
Comstock has run for the state Legislature twice as a Democrat. He unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, in 2018. He then ran in 2020 for the state House District 96 seat, but lost to Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers.
Then-Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Comstock to fill a vacancy to the court bench in Benton County in 2011. Comstock served as circuit judge there from June 2011 to December 2012. He lost an election in May 2012 to keep the judge's position when he was defeated by current Circuit Judge Tom Smith.
Comstock has been a constant presence at public meetings concerning Benton County's push for an expansion of the Benton County Jail. He has been a vocal critic of the proposal.
Bond hearings in Benton County has been an issue recently since a federal lawsuit was filed concerning how bond hearings are conducted in the county.
Comstock has been a vocal critic of the procedure of not having public defenders at bond hearings at the jail to represent people.
Gilbert said if there are any issues with the audio then they will be fixed because the bond hearings are public and people should be able to hear the proceedings.