Duane Gonder, age 25 of Monticello, plead guilty, Friday morning, to the charges of 1st degree murder of his brother, Marcus Gonder, aggravated assault, and attempted introduction of a prohibited item into a jail.

Gonder was sentenced to serve 46 years in the Arkansas Dept. of Correction.

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Rodney Scales, age 36 of Dermott, was found guilty by a Drew County jury Friday, on the charges of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and fleeing (without concern for human life).

Scales was sentenced to 80 years on the cocaine charge, and 4 years on the fleeing charge.  The jury recommended the charges run consecutive, for a total of 84.  Scales will not be eligible for parole for approximately 21 years.

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Antwon Clifton, age 16 of Wilmar, died Tuesday, after being removed from life support at Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

The youth was the victim of drowning at Lake Monticello on Monday, June 7.

The obituary will be posted when detail are announced.  (more…)

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Just before 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, Ward Rabb, a local pilot, was returning to Monticello from a trip to Kansas, when the single propeller airplane he was flying, began having engine trouble, and had to perform an emergency landing, on HWY 425 North, near Campground Road.

According to Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober, Rabb had contacted the FAA, prior to landing the plane on the highway. Neither the pilot or the plane’s other passenger were injured.

The plane, shown here, was pushed into a nearby yard; repaired; and then took off, disappearing over a hill, as spectators watched.

According to Lt. Jason Akers of the 10th Drug Task Force, a Central Arkansas based methamphetamine trafficking operation was shut down by Task Force Agents this past week.

According to Akers, an investigation into methaphetamine traffickers from Little Rock, Arkansas that began in Monticello resulted in the arrest of several suspects believed to be involved in bringing the drug to Bradley, Drew and other counties throughout the State. 

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A 21 year old Monticello man was arrested on a warrant by the Monticello Police Dept, last week and is being held on a $300,00 bond, following his 1st appearance hearing Thursday. (more…)

Documents filed with the Drew County Circuit Clerks office show the the charges against Robbie Taylor have been “nolle prossed”, by the prosecuting attorney’s office, due to issues involving evidence. 

The court order includes the phrases,”without prejudice,” and “insufficient evidence to convict the defendant at this time.” (more…)

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Between 9:30-10 p.m., Tuesday evening, as many North and South Gabbert Street residents were getting ready for quiet night’s rest, police lights and sirens caught everyone’s attention, not once, but twice, as a police chase that began in McGehee, after a reported domestic disturbance, headed toward Lincoln County, and then turned south, traveling down HWY 83, North Gabbert Street,  and South Gabbert Street, before the driver hit a dead end and reversed, traveling back north on South Gabbert and North Gabbert, then east on Oakland, north on Cooper, and finally gave up at the end of East Calhoun Street

The pursuit, which started with McGehee police, grew to include Arkansas State Police Troop E and Troop F patrol units, as well as Drew County deputies and Monticello police officers.

At the dead end of Calhoun Street, the suspect stopped the car, and officers quickly took  the driver and female passenger out of the vehicle, and placed them under arrest. (more…)

Following Monday’s MLive story “New Year’s Eve Bullet Lands in Child’s Bed”, reports of another home being hit by New Year’s Eve stray bullets have been reported to MonticelloLive.

A home near the intersection of East Jackson and Cherry Streets was hit, not only once New Year’s Eve, but twice. (more…)

A Drew County jury found Benjamin Briney not guilty of aggravated animal cruelty, following the admitted beating to death of a horse on August 1, with a baseball bat.

This is Arkansas’ first attempt at prosecuting someone under the new “felony aggravated animal cruelty” law that went into effect as of midnight on July 31.  The death of this horse occurred approximately one hour later. (more…)

12 area residents and a local bank have been awarded money owed to them, following a recent restitution hearing against Rick Funderburg, former owner of Rick’s Auto Outlet, of Monticello, for damages done in the criminal case against him, in which he pled guilty in December of 2005. (more…)

Around 11 o’clock, Monday morning, as an attorney and his client were likely discussing their case before leaving the courthouse parking lot, the client reached into the back seat of the attorney’s pick-up truck to get a box.

When he moved the box, a 243 rifle, reportedly, accidentally fired, sending it’s bullet out the back passenger side of the attorney’s truck, and into the tailgate of the Drew County Environmental Enforcement vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, parked next to the north entrance of the courthouse.  Witnesses said that there were several rifles in the back of the vehicle. (more…)

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According to Lt. Jason Akers of the Tenth Drug Task Force, task force agents arrested a Monticello man after executing a search warrant at his Monticello apartment. (more…)

An 18-year-old Monticello man was killed in a head-on collision between the Toyota pick-up he was driving and a truck from the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Dept., around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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Usually the follow up reports after a local festival don’t include arrest reports, but for the second consecutive year, this has been the case in Monticello. (more…)

According to Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober, last Wednesday, a Cominto area man saw flames coming up on the outside of his home near the kitchen area.  At the time, the man and two children were inside of the residence, (more…)