Local reflects on attending Inauguration in person
As Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President Friday, several local residents were on hand to witness the event, including Dr. Bruce White and his wife Stacey. Arkansas First District Congressman Rick Crawford coordinated an invite for them to attend.
Stacey White says they watched from the front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool, near a large television monitor. She was amazed by the amount of people and the cheerful, electric energy in the air.
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There were reports of protestors around the west lawn. One person in their party had gotten a coffee at the nearby Starbucks, just minutes before the windows were destroyed. White says they had to walk out of their way to get to their destination.
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For the most part, White says, the crowd, made up of all walks of life, was patriotic and respectful toward President Obama as he made an appearance and shook President Trump’s hand.
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Another highlight for White was getting to meet News Anchorman Tucker Carlson as he was getting out of a golf cart. She asked to have her picture taken with him. When he found out White was from Mountain Home he said he knew the area well, and to say hello to everyone here.
The group later attended the Big American Ball at the MGM Grand in Maryland.
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Roos petition for post conviction relief continued
The hearing on convicted murderer Nicholas Roos’ petition seeking post conviction relief has been continued until March 28th, according to court records.
The hearing was originally set for January 24th, but the two Mountain Home lawyers appointed to represent Roos in the proceeding — John Crain and Justin Downum — asked for the continuance so they would have adequate time to examine material they have recently obtained as part of their preparation for the hearing.
Roos was one of three young people — all in their 20’s — charged in the killing of an elderly Midway couple and the burning of their home located on County Road 508 in early November 2015.
Roos entered a guilty plea to charges of capital murder and arson on May 24th of last year and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The other two people involved in the murder/arson case — Zach Grayham and Mikayla Mynk — also entered guilty pleas and were given prison time. On August 25th, Grayham was sentenced to 25 years in prison on amended charges of murder in the 2nd degree and aggravated residential burglary. The state dismissed arson and theft of property charges against him. In early August, Mynk was given 20 years in prison, followed by 15 years probation on reduced charges of aggravated residential burglary and theft by receiving.
After he entered the prison system, Roos wasted little time in attempting to back out of his negotiated guilty plea and filed a Rule 37 petition seeking post conviction relief.
Rule 37 Petitions are filed frequently — particularly by inmates in the state prison system. According to a number of legal journal articles, the petitions are generally based on the claim that the convicted person received inadequate legal representation.
Roos makes such a claim in his petition, contending that the two attorneys appointed by the State Public Defender Commission — Teri Chambers and Katherine Streett — did a less than adequate job in defending him. Roos alleges — among other things — that the two attorneys did not investigate his claimed mental health problems. He alleges that he informed his defense team that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia that caused both auditory and visual hallucinations. He also claims that his request to meet with a mental health professional was “denied by counsel” for unknown reasons.
He said his attorneys failed to develop a defense of mental disease and defect, despite the fact that he had what he claims was a “history of mental health problems, delusions, hunger strikes and suicide attempts”.
Roos contends that he pled guilty based largely on the “deficient performance and advice” of Chambers and Streett. He said the flawed advice led him to accept a plea agreement offered by the state, enter the guilty plea, accept the life without parole sentence, and not pursue a trial.
When anyone accepts a plea agreement worked out between lawyers for the defense and prosecution, the sentencing procedure is fairly lengthy. During the sentencing, the judge questions the defendant on a number of items contained in the plea agreement. One question specifically addresses whether the defendant was satisfied with the representation he received and if anyone had threatened him in order to get him to enter a guilty plea.
Roos indicated during his sentencing that he was satisfied with the work his lawyers had done on his behalf, and agreed that he had not been threatened and was entering his guilty plea freely and voluntarily.
The State refutes the claims laid out by Roos in his Rule 37 Petition in an answer filed in mid-September. As to Roos’ basic argument that he did not receive effective assistance from the attorneys then representing him, the State points out that Roos was represented by “two of the finest death penalty qualified attorneys” in Arkansas and that the two attorneys have handled more than 50 capital murder cases.
At one point in the sentencing process for Roos, Circuit Judge Gordon Webb asked Roos directly if he had “engaged in actions with a firearm causing the death of two people — the Rices?” Roos said he had.
Roos was also asked if he had anything to say on his behalf before the court formally passed sentence and Roos answered no.
In his Rule 37 proceeding, Roos has asked that he be provided with certain items of information, including audio/visual recordings of him that might have been taken in the Baxter County Detention Center, with a specific focus on a period from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. on November 13, just shortly after he was arrested in connection with the Rice murders.
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Fatal fire in Mountain Home last Sunday
A house fire on 78 County Road 496 in Mountain Home at 11:14 Sunday evening has killed 56-year-old Donna Lou Rollins of the residence. At approximately 1:40 Monday afternoon Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery put out a press release saying the next of kin have been notified and her name could be provided. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A subsequent telephone report at approximately 11:21 Monday morning indicated that the house was nearly burned down and Rollins’ car was there.
According to Captain Darrin Peoples, of the Mountain Home Fire Department, 15 personnel were on scene, including two tankers, a fire engine and three support vehicles, for four hours to extinguish the blaze. Mutual aid was received from Clarkridge and Midway Fire Departments. Baxter County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to the scene. The home was completely destroyed.
Rollins’ body was removed by the County Coroner and is being sent to the Arkansas State Medical Examiners Office in Little Rock for autopsy to confirm the cause and manner of death.
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Jailed Baxter Co. man faces additional charges of rape
A rural Mountain Home man who is currently being held in the Baxter County jail on charges of sexual indecency with a child and sexual assault now faces addition charges of rape, according to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery. The sheriff says 19 year old Edward Lee Vanscoy III has been in jail since late September on a bond revocation related to charges filed the previous year on the sexual indecency and assault charges. Bond on the felony rape charges has been set at $100,000.
Montgomery says officers from his department were contacted in late June by the Arkansas Crimes Against Children Division regarding a complaint from a 12 year old girl, an acquaintance of Vanscoy, who said he had raped her in his home about three weeks earlier. The child was examined and an undergarment, which had been kept by her parent, was taken into evidence and sent to the state crime lab for analysis where DNA evidence was found on the garment.
In September of last year investigators obtained a search warrant to collect a sample of Vanscoy’s DNA for comparative analysis by the crime lab which was determined to be a match, according to the sheriff. Tuesday, the sheriff and his investigators were notified by the lab there was a match between Vanscoy’s DNA and the evidence found on the child’s garment.
Based on this evidence, additional charges were made against Vanscoy Tuesday., according to Sheriff Montgomery.
Vanscoy was first arrested on September 9th and charged with five counts of third degree sexual assault. The then 18 year old was charged with having sexual contact with two girls, aged 12 and 13, on five different occasions. The incidents occurred at several locations, including an apartment complex and a park, according to court records.
He was released from the Baxter County jail the following day after posting $10,000 bond.
While free on that bond, Vanscoy was rearrested and charged with sexual indecency with a child. In the probable cause affidavit laying out the details of the new charges, it was alleged that Vanscoy had sex with a 14-year-old girl after he and his mother were allowed to stay in the apartment occupied by the 14-year-old and her mother because Vanscoy and his parent were homeless.
When questioned by investigators, the girl admitted to having sex with Vanscoy three times, twice in the apartment where she lived and once at another residence in Mountain Home.
Vanscoy admitted to “making out” with the girl, but denied having intercourse with her. He also told investigators that he had sent a sexually explicit picture of himself to the girl via text message.
He is set to appear in court January 26th.
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Baxter Co. man arrested in connection with assault of BRMC employee
A rural Mountain Home is behind bars following an investigation into an assault of a Baxter Regional Medical Center employee outside the hospital. Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manuel says 23 year old Vince Allen Johnson is being held in the Baxter County jail on charges of assault, public intoxication, a failure to appear warrant from Baxter County and a probation violation. His bond has been set at $1,230.
According to the police chief, Johnson was arrested following an investigation into an incident on January 6th, when he is alleged to have assaulted the unidentified woman as she was leaving work. He is said to have run at her, striking her, grabbing her arms and throwing her against a wall at the entrance to the hospital. Four days later, police responded to the hospital due to concerns about Johnson by hospital security. Officers learned about the active arrest warrant and he was placed under arrest.
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