Ronald K. Watson of Flippin, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of rape, kidnapping and third degree battery stemming from an incident in which a woman was abducted from the parking lot of the midtown Harps location, assaulted and raped in late July last year, has filed a Rule 37 Petition seeking post conviction relief.
A hearing on Watsons petition is currently set for late October, according to court records.
Watson is the second person to seek post conviction relief recently. Nicholas Roos, who was sentenced to life without parole for killing and robbing an elderly Midway couple in early November last year, is also asking for post conviction relief and the hearing on his Rule 37 Petition is set for late October as well. Two local lawyers – John Crain and Justin Downum – were recently appointed by the court to represent Roos.
The state filed answers to both petitions late last week.
As with most Rule 37 petitions, Watson is claiming ineffective representation by his attorney, and also alleges speedy trial violations. Watson represented himself in the initial filing, but asks the court to appoint a lawyer for him.
In his petition, Watson basically lays the blame for his not making what he terms a timely first appearance on the entire legal system in Baxter County and contends he was denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Watson makes reference to not being brought before a judicial officer within 48 hours of his arrest and appears to allege a violation of Rule 8.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. The rule, however, only requires that a person not released from jail in a lawful manner shall be taken before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay.
In one opinion, a former Arkansas Attorney General pointed out that Rule 8.1 provides no guidance in interpreting the meaning of the term unnecessary delay.
According to court records, Watson waived his right to a formal reading of the warrant that listed the charges he faced.
In the state’s answer to Watson’s petition, the arguments he raises are refuted and the court is requested to dismiss the petition as being without merit. The state further contends that Watson’s arguments cannot prevail, and that his petition should be dismissed on its face and without a hearing.
In Arkansas, a defendant must be brought to trial within a year, excluding any continuances granted on motion of the defense. Watson pled guilty to the charges against him within that time limit.
The incident that led to Watson’s arrest began about 9 p.m. on July 31st of last year when the Mountain Home Police Department received a call reporting a possible abduction.
A husband and wife, who reported they were mentally challenged and did not drive, were walking along U.S. Highway 62/412 when a man later identified as the 62-year-old Watson, who was driving a green extended cab Chevrolet pickup truck, offered them a ride. The couple accepted the ride telling Watson they needed to stop by the Big Lots store and also needed to buy groceries at Harps. The wife went into the Big Lots store, leaving the husband waiting in the truck with Watson.
When the wife returned to the truck, the trio drove to Harpss. When the husband exited the truck, Watson sped away with the wife still in the vehicle. The husband told police he chased after the truck as best he could, but it got away turning south onto Cardinal Street. The husband described the driver of the truck as a man in his 50s, bald with a beard, wearing a light blue t-shirt, dark shorts and tennis shoes.
After officers arrived at the scene, they began interviewing the husband, but soon saw the wife running toward the group yelling and crying from the direction of Highway 62/412. She was covered in blood and had obvious facial injuries. She described in detail what the driver of the truck had said and done. She said at one point, she managed to call 911 while in the truck – reporting that she had been kidnapped – but said Watson grabbed the phone and threw it out the window. She said she punched Watson in the head, but that only angered him and he began to beat and punch her in the face
After leaving Harps, Watson drove the woman to the parking lot of another business where he demanded she drink some vodka, remove her clothing and perform sexual acts. At one point, she asked Watson if she could dress and leave and he said she could. At that point, she scrambled out of the truck, ran back to Harps and located her husband who was talking with police.
Later that evening, a trooper with the Arkansas State Police responded to a call of a man passed out in a pickup truck on the parking lot of a liquor store near Walmart. When the trooper approached and asked the man what he was doing there, he replied that he was trying to sober up.
The trooper noticed blood in the vehicle along with an open bottle of vodka. He called Mountain Home Police, and an officer responded to the scene. Watson was identified as the man in the truck and it was noted that he also fit the description of the suspect in the abduction and rape earlier in the evening.
According to investigative records, Watson is alleged to have told the officers that he had gotten into an argument with his wife, left his residence in Flippin and went cruising. Watson said he purchased vodka at a liquor store on his way into Mountain Home. He said he planned to visit an acquaintance to buy drugs. Watson told officers he was not sure if he actually made it to the friends residence since he has what he described as black outs when drinking. He said the next thing he remembered clearly was being awakened by the State Trooper on the liquor store parking lot.
Watson was booked into the Baxter County Detention Center in the early morning hours of August 1st last year.
He is currently an inmate in the Varner Unit of the state prison system at Gould. Roos is being held in the same unit.
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