Monticello Live

Monday, in Drew County Circuit Court, it was stated that the the prosecution is expected to seek the Death Penalty for the March 2014 shooting death of a 29 year old Southeast Arkansas woman, outside of local grocery store. (more…)

Victoria Pedraza leaving Courthouse after her 20 year sentence for Permitting Abuse of a Minor, which led to the death of her Daughter.

In July of 2013, Victoria Pedraza pled guilty in Drew County Circuit Court to permitting abuse of a minor, in the death of her 2 year old daughter, Aubriana Coke. She was sentenced to serve 5 – 20 years in ADC.

She has appealed, arguing that the circuit court judge erred by (1) requiring her to register as a sex offender, (2) engaging in inappropriate conduct during her sentencing trial, and (3) not disqualifying himself from presiding over her sentencing trial (which was held with a jury).
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Last March, a 19-year-old Monticello female was charged with filing a false police report against a young man, causing his arrest.

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Local Businessman’s Jury Trial for 12 Counts of “Theft of Property”
Business Owner’s Jury Trial -11 am Update
Business Owner’s Jury Trial -1 pm Update
Business Owner’s Jury Trial – 2:30 Update
Defendant Takes the Stand – 4:30 Update
Trial Still in Progress –7:45 Update
Jury Trial – 8:30 Update
9:30 pm Jury Trial Update – The Jury Has Reached a Verdict
Jury Report –11:15 PM Update
Jury Announces Sentence, Minutes before Midnight

Shooting Trial Underway
Victim Testifies About Shooting
“Description of the Shooting”
16 Year Old Testifies in Shooting Trial
16 Year Old’s Mother Testifies
Defendant Testifies “Self Defense” in Shooting

At 5:50 PM, Friday, after only 20 minutes of deliberation, a jury of 3 men and 9 women returned a final verdict of not guilty in the trial of Jimmy Gibson for the November, 2013 shooting of a Star City man in northern Drew County.

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Murder Trial Underway
Jury Selected for Murder Trial
Prosecution Opening Statement
Defense’s Opening Argument
Investigator’s Testimony
Testimony of Williams Telling where the Body was Buried
Video of Interview is Shown & Its Testimony
Psychologist Testifies Defendant “Feigning Psychosis” – End of a Day Update
Prosecution Rests Case in Williams Murder Trial
Defense Rests without Williams Testifying in his own Defense in Murder Trial
Prosecution’s Closing Argument
Murder Case Goes to the Jury
Jury Verdict is In……
Williams Previously Convicted of Manslaughter & Attempted Murder
Jury Returns in 8 Minutes with Max Sentence

Jury duty for Drew Coumty Circuit Court for  Thursday has been canceled, according to the circuit clerk’s office.

 When a member of the Public Defender’s office stopped by their office, Saturday evening, to pick up a file, they found the building ramsacked, window blinds destroyed, tables turned over, and files strew all over the desks and floor.

A trail of mischief led them to a back office where the masked suspect was found sleeping in the corner of another room.

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 A big rig wreck on Oct. 2, 2006 in Calhoun County led to the trial, which is expected to last 3-4 days.

While driving a loaded log truck on Calhoun County Road #2,, Gene Gibson (a Drew County resident) had the loaded log truck he was driving, run off of the pavement and rolled onto its right side.

A log shifted, and enter the cab, apparently injuring Gibson.

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A Drew County man’s ongoing legal battles took a downturn, Tuesday, when District Judge Luevonda Ross sentenced him to 30 days in jail, for phone calls and FaceBook posts, harrassing his ex-wife, her attorney, and her pastor.

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The restitution hearing for former Drew County Circuit Clerk Pat Savage Montgomery was held Monday morning, at the Drew County Courthouse.

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Attorney Jenny D. Lemoine of the law firm Gibson & Keith PLLC has been elected to a three year term in the House of Delegates of the Arkansas Bar Association. The House of Delegates is the Association’s policy making body and consists of 81 attorney members from across the state.

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 A Drew County jury of 2 men and 11 women are hearing the case of an Ashley County landowner suing the county over a bridge on a county road. 

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Former Drew County Judge Damon Lampkin and newly appointed District Court Judge P. Luevonda Ross were honored for their achievements at Monday night’s Martin Luther King birthday celebration by the NAACP.

10th Jjudicial District Circuit Judge Kenny Johnson has been appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court’s child support committee for a four-year term.

The committee issues recommendations to the court regarding child support issues in the state.

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The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission has dropped it’s pending charges against former Drew County District Judge Ken Harper, after Harper, who recently resigned as District Judge, also resigned from his upcoming term, and promised never to serve in the Arkansas judiciary in the future.

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According to Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Deen, Drew County Circuilt Clerk Pat Savage Montgomery was charged Tuesday with theft of property, falsifying business records, and abuse of office.

The court documents filed state…..

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Drew County Circuit Clerk Pat Savage Montgomery submitted a letter announcing her immediate leave of absence to Drew County officials, this morning.

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A press release from the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission has confirmed that 10th Judicial District Judge Sam Pope will receive a 30 day unpaid suspension following an April 5 confrontation at the Crossett Walmart with his estranged wife’s boyfriend, where a physical confrontation developed between the two men.  Both men were handcuffed and transported to the Crossett Police Department, but no charges were filed by either party.

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District Court Report to City Council from MonticelloLive on Vimeo.

Right after Judge Bynum Gibson told the court that a convicted drug manufacturer would receive two consecutive 10 year sentences, the man approached the judge’s bench, said “I object”, and fell to the floor.

This was the same man who when arrested asked for the Postmaster instead of an attorney and called the jury ““Brain-washed Socialist Cowards”  during his trial.

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After an email was sent by Monticello Mayor Allen Maxwell to city council members, that e-mail found it’s way to the courthouse.  A meeting was called Wednesday morning, to “air out” the issues pertaining to the ongoing battle over the Juvenile Court’s use of the MEDC / District Court building.

This long-running soap opera earlier led to the “back door” sign being posted on the MEDC / Court door; the front court room door being locked; and most recently to City Hall’s “No Public Restroom” policy, which in turn led to an “old fashioned outhouse” being placed on the City Hall yard, outside of the Mayor’s window.

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Chief of Police Eddy Deaton addressed the City Council Thursday evening on warrant issues the department is having due to mix-ups in District Court. He told the Council that over the past few years people were being arrested on warrants for fines that they had already paid.

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There will be no jury duty, today, in the Drew County Circuit Court.

Usually that announcement is made because a plea bargain has been reached.  That is not the case, this time.

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