By TAMARA JOHNSON
Managing Editor
A man with a history of violent activity has been sentenced to prison on burglary charges.
L.B. Haggins, 47, C-16 Southside Trailer Park, Forrest City, was sentenced in St. Francis County Circuit Court on Tuesday to the Arkansas Department of Corrections for residential burglary and commercial burglary. He was given 10-year sentences on each charge, but the sentences are to run concurrently.
Haggins is no stranger to the prison system. He was sentenced to 15 years in the ADC in 1980 for an aggravated robbery in Crittenden County, and in 1990, he was sentenced to seven years in a federal prison for aiding and abetting in the distribution of cocaine. Haggins pled guilty to first-degree battery in January 1997 and was sentenced to five years in the ADC.
In May 2000, Haggins was again in the criminal court system and placed on a five-year suspended sentence for theft of property and burglary.
In addition to his prison sentences delivered Tuesday on the burglary charges, Haggins was also given two more five-year suspended sentences for cases involving the shootings of two men in Forrest City earlier this year over a drug deal, according to court records.
On Jan. 17, Haggins shot Dedrick Crawford of Marion in the head outside a residence in the Rice and Mann Housing area, and a few days later, on Jan. 23, he shot at Larry Washington outside Staton's on North Washington. Buckshot from Haggins' shotgun struck Washington in the eye.
Court records show Crawford was shot during an alleged drug deal involving Washington and Haggins, and Washington was shot after he reportedly told police Haggins had shot Crawford.
In the Crawford case, he was originally charged with attempted murder and aggravated robbery, but those two charges were merged into one count of first-degree battery for which he was given a five-year suspended sentence that is scheduled to begin after his release from prison.
In the Washington case, Haggins was originally charged with first-degree battery and unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. Those charges were merged into one count of first-degree battery. His suspended sentence for this case is also scheduled to begin after his release from prison.
In other circuit court activity Tuesday, several subjects were placed on probation.
Christopher Lee Wilkerson, 21, of Colt, was given five years probation with two years supervised probation for second-degree forgery and merged felony charges of residential burglary and theft of property. He was arrested in March of this year.
A West Helena man received five years probation with two years supervised probation on drug charges stemming from his August 2002 arrest.
A Charlotte, N.C., man received a five-year suspended sentence after his arrest on drug charges in January this year. Arkansas State Police found a kilo of cocaine and six ounces of heroine inside a vehicle driven by Saul Esquado, 27, during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 40.
The state declined to prosecute a case involving Clifford Edman of Hughes after it was revealed he was wanted in Texas for a parole violation. Edman waived extradition to Texas on Tuesday.
Cartrell Mays, 26, received five years probation with one year supervised probation for first-degree terroristic threatening and residential burglary.
Donald Leo Drone, 19, of Forrest City, was given three years
probation with one year supervised probation on drug charges.
Area high school students will have a unique opportunity to pursue popular career programs and earn college credit while still attending school through the newly created Eastark Secondary Career Center (ESCC) located on the campus of East Arkansas Community College.
The Center is the result of a collaborative effort between EACC, area school districts and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education.
"Of primary importance is helping students make more informed career choices," said Dr. John Alderson, EACC Director of Business and Industry Training and Coordinator of the Center.
"Students select a technical program based upon an informed decision combined with their own aptitude and personal interests. This process will help prepare them for the real world of work, and will teach the students marketable skills that can lead to professional certifications and give them "a leg up" before and after high school graduation."
Students enrolled in the program will attend classes in the afternoon Monday-Friday at EACC and will receive credit at both the high school and college level (concurrent credit). Hours earned for college credit may count toward a degree, certificate or advanced certification program. Local high school districts provide transportation for the student's convenience.
Four local high schools are currently participating in the innovative career center: Brinkley High School, Cross County High School, Lee County High School, and Palestine/Wheatley High School. "We will be able to accommodate additional students," said Dr. Alderson, "so we encourage other high schools to call us and begin the process of signing their students into the program."
Students will have four popular fields of study as options in the program-Criminal Justice, Hospitality-Tourism/Lodging, and Medical Professions Education.
"We encourage students and parents to contact their high school counselor or principal about the Eastark Secondary Career Center. The Center is for students going into the 11th and 12th grades in any high school in the EACC area. If your high school isn't participating in the Career Center at the present time, have the high school contact the ESCC or the student and their parents can contact the Center directly for more information."
"The ESCC will provide area high schools with secondary career center services at no cost to the student. Books, tuition and related fees are provided through the Center and are funded by a training fee paid by the local school districts and by funds provided through the Department of Workforce Education," said Jan Haven, EACC Vice President for Academic Affairs.
"We at ESCC and EACC are truly excited about the opportunity we have to start the Secondary Career Center and to make a positive impact on young people in our area," said Dr. Alderson.
Classes are currently forming. For more information about the
Eastark Secondary Career Center, please call Dr. John Alderson
at 870-633-4480 ext. 291 or 275.
Several pounds of marijuana were found hidden in the rear of a Jeep stopped for a traffic violation Tuesday morning near Forrest City.
Arkansas State Police Troop D reported a 1994 Jeep Cherokee was stopped near the 246 eastbound mile marker about 11 a.m. When the trooper approached the car, he reportedly noticed an odor of marijuana and asked for consent to search the vehicle after handcuffing the driver, Michael Gabriel Greenstreet, 20, of Pasadena, Maryland.
Inside a pocket on Greenstreet's shorts, the trooper found rolling papers and a small amount of marijuana. Greenstreet told police he had smoked the marijuana before leaving Dallas, Texas.
He refused several requests by the trooper to search his vehicle and also denied requests to allow the state police drug dog to perform a search. However, after explaining probable cause to the suspect, troopers searched the vehicle and found 15 pounds of marijuana hidden inside two tires located in the vehicle's rear cargo compartments.
Greenstreet is charged with following too closely, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms and unlawful possession of an altered driver's license.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Residents in a recently incorporated Forrest City subdivision came home from work to a pleasant surprise Tuesday afternoon after a cooperative effort between the city and St. Francis County led to the surfacing of street in their neighborhood.
According to St. Francis County Quorum Court member and Forrest City Water Utility employee Sam Armstrong, the paving in the Patillo Acres One subdivision was done through work from both city and county governments.
"When we started talking about this, the city said that they would come out here after we finished the sewer lines. As part of that, we (the county) agreed to come out and fix anything that we had done to the roads while we were laying those lines. About two weeks ago, we came out here and patched a portion of Patillo Road and then we came back and built the road up. Once the road was built back up, the city contracted M&T Paving to come in here and pave the road," Armstrong said.
"We've had the front road out there paved for awhile, and the road that goes to the rest of the neighborhood needed pavement. This is something that I'm sure those folks will appreciate, and it was good that the city and the county could work together on this," SFC Judge Carl Cisco said.
According to Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant, the paving of SFC Road 202 was in the plans for the city once the area was annexed.
"We had planned to pave the road all along, but when we annexed the area we talked with officials with the county because they had the sewer addition going on out there. The decision was made not to pave at that time because we didn't want to run the risk of having the road torn up after it was paved and once the county let us know that they were finished we moved to have it paved," Bryant said.
"This is a part of the effort to make sure that we have all of our city streets paved and when that area was annexed, the work needed to be done. I think the citizens in that neighborhood will really appreciate the work," he added.
Work on the sewer additions in the Patillo One and Two subdivisions along with Redfern subdivision began in 2003 after the county received a $2.2 million grant from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Armstrong said that work to tie homeowners in to the sewer system could begin as early as October.
"We're still evaluating the applications for assistance on tying in, and I've got 14 more applications that I have to get information from. Once that is complete, then I can go in and evaluate exactly what is needed in the home, such as hot water tanks and commodes with the right connections. Once that's done, we'll let bids on the contract so that we can get a plumber under contract. I'm anticipating that being done in October," Armstrong said.
"According to how the weather is, because there will be outside and inside work with the number of houses that have to be tied in, the project could be completed in about three months," Armstrong added.