By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
One of three men accused of a triple murder last year in Madison pled guilty to reduced charges Wednesday and was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Kevin Mosby, 31, is accused with two other men in the murders last December of Dylan A. Boyd, 31, and Carl Boyd, 27, both of Madison and Dewayne Stewart, 27, of Forrest City.
Circuit Judge Harvey Yates heard Mosby's plea Wednesday afternoon.
In an agreement worked out beforehand with Danny Glover and Jim Perry, attorneys representing Mosby, Mosby pled guilty to three reduced charges, from capital murder to first-degree murder. He also pled guilty to a fourth charge, involving the theft of a van after the murders.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yates sentenced Mosby to 20 years for each count of murder, to be served concurrently, which means he will be serving all three counts at the same time. Mosby was also sentenced to 20 years in the theft of the van, to be served consecutively with the other time, meaning he was sentenced to a total of 40 years.
Before pronouncing sentence, Yates went over the charges, and asked Mosby if he understood the nature of the charges and the possible range of sentencing. He also asked Mosby if he was satisfied with the representation he had received from his attorneys. Mosby answered yes to all of the questions.
Several family members of the victims were present in the courtroom, and afterwards expressed displeasure with the sentencing, claiming it was not strong enough.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Morledge met for a while with the family members, many of whom were angry and crying. They left the meeting saying they were still not satisfied.
Morledge said he didn't want to comment on the case at this time.
The bodies of the three men were found in a home in the Crow Creek area of Madison on Dec. 7, by the girlfriend of one of the victims.
Mosby was considered a suspect, along with Jimmy Mills, 30 at the time of the murders, of Forrest City and Steven Dewayne Neal, 35, of Marianna.
Mosby and Mills were captured Jan. 9 by police in Hudson, Wis. Neal surrendered at the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department on March 21.
The men were also wanted for the theft of a white 1996 Ford Windstar van, which had been rented on the day of the murders.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
A lot of cotton has been harvested in St. Francis county, but a lot remains, and farmers need several days of dry weather.
"We've still got quite a bit of cotton left," said Extension Agent Mitch Crow. "I'd say 50 percent of our cotton is still in the field, and this rain we're having every week is really affecting the quality of our cotton.
"Every time it rains, the color of the cotton gets a little darker, and that effects the grade, which effects the money farmers are going to get for their cotton," he continued.
He said he hasn't seen a lot of plants knocked down by wind and rain, making quality is the big issue.
Crow also said it takes more than a day or two without rain before the heavy cotton picking equipment can get into the fields.
"We need this sun that we're having today, we need it to shine for the next two weeks," he said. "I think most of our guys can get back in the field Friday afternoon, but it's going to be real muddy. And when it's muddy, the picker won't harvest as efficiently as it will on dry ground."
He said that could result in leaving some cotton in the field
"That's another thing we're going to have to contend with, not being able to harvest as cleanly as we'd like. And that's going to hurt," he said.
Several people were arrested Wednesday night when police raided a Forrest City residence.
The Forrest City Police Department today reported a house at 515 D Street was raided by several law enforcement agencies last night. The FCPD was assisted in the raid by the First and Third Judicial District Task Forces, the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department and the Arkansas State Police.
Police raided the residence, occupied by Donta Jones, 27, and Latoya Buchanan, 25, and found a variety of drugs. Officials seized about one ounce of crack cocaine, over 25 individually packaged bags of marijuana and a 9mm pistol, according to a press release from the FCPD.
Jones and Buchanan are each charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near certain facilities, crack cocaine and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near certain facilities, marijuana.
Other people at the residence during the raid were arrested on different charges, some stemming from old warrants.
Johnny Jones III, 24, 137 E. Midway St., Forrest City, charged with possesion of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near certain facilities, crack cocaine; possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver near certain facilities, marijuana and simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms.
Michael Buchanan, 38, 838 Sherwood Dr., Forrest City, was arrested on seven counts of violation of the Arkansas Hot Check Law,
Johnny Jones, 46, 137 E. Midway St., Forrest City, and Roshunda Barber, 22, 51 Grobmyer Circle, Apt. 366, Forrest City, were each arrested for simple possession of marijuana.
Valancia Hitchcock, 38, 137 E. Midway St., Forrest City, was charged with simple possession of marijuana, failure to comply for non-payment of fines and two counts of failure to appear.
According to the press release, the house is located within 1,000 feet of Christ Temple Church located on B Street, which adds an enhancement to the drug charges. Those charged with felonies were scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in St. Francis County District Court.
Building permits for projects valued at total of over $3.2 million during October, according to figures from the Forrest City mayor's office.
The largest single permit was for the new Chapel Ridge Apartments on Holiday Drive, valued at $3,125,000. There was also a new sign for the ABC School at 1000 N. Division, valued at $2,735 and a storage building for Community Voices at 426 S. Division, valued at $2,000.
The rest of the projects involved private homes, including one new house, three burnouts, two storage buildings, a carport and an addition.
A St. Francis County jury has awarded $16,173 to a man who claimed he was assaulted by a supervisor at work.
The jury awarded Bobby Hollis of Colt $5,373 in compensatory damages and $10,800 in punitive damages against Jerrell Brecheen. The suit had asked for punitive damages of at least $2 million.
The suit claims that on Oct. 12, 1998, Hollis was attacked by Brecheen, who at that time was his supervisor at the Rubatex plant in Colt. The suit also claimed that Brecheen had developed a pattern of assault against employees, and that that Rubatex was also liable for his acts.
The Forrest City City Council will hold its regular monthly meeting at 7 tonight at city hall.
The St. Francis County Budget Committee will meet at 6 p.m. at the courthouse.