Parolee Gregory released from prison after 2 1/2 years; community asks why

August 18 was shaping up as a typical Friday afternoon in Baxter County while employees watched the clock as the work week was ending, and the first week of school was winding down with preparations underway for the annual Bomberfest.

But a storm was brewing in the southern part of the county that would lead to numerous life-threatening close calls with multiple law enforcement officers and the public at large as a high speed chase ensued into Mountain Home. The calamity would end when a vehicle driven by 56-year-old Rory Gregory crashed into the double doors of the emergency room of Baxter Regional Medical Center. Since then, many have asked why had the parolee sentenced to 15 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction in 2014 been released from prison. Karen Hopper asked that question of the Arkansas Parole Board. Here is her report.

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Gregory has an extensive criminal history, stretching back to his teenage years when he was charged with the shooting and attempted rape of a Mountain Home woman.But by 1992 Parole Board Investigator Scott Howard says Gregory had totally completed the sentence handed down by the court and was no longer under any supervision, nor on parole or probation.Gregory’s past is littered with charges and jail sentences. According to court records, he has a significant number of felony convictions and has been involved in alleged crimes in and out of Arkansas. From 1995 until 2012 records indicate charges being dismissed or nolle prossed, and Gregory having received suspended imposition of sentences.He would fall of the Department of Correction’s radar for about 22 years. But in 2014 he was back in the headlines on various charges stemming from an incident when he was accused of attempting to run down Mountain Home Police Officer Larry Caruso when the officer attempted to stop a pickup truck pulling a large trailer from a business after it had closed for the day. The crate on the trailer contained a utility vehicle valued at slightly more than $6,000.Gregory would receive a 15-year sentence in 2014 for theft of property from that incident and a five-year battery charge that would run concurrently.But he would be released from prison on April 3 of this year, despite objections from local officials.

Howard says Act 534 requires inmates to complete one-third of their sentences, or in Gregory’s case 5 years, before being considered for parole. Beyond that, by completing directed courses and maintaining a high classification by avoiding disciplinary issues, inmates may earn up to one-half good time, making Gregory eligible for parole consideration in two and a half years.

Howard says the Parole Board has some limited discretion in granting parole. In Gregory’s case, in 2016, the Board exercised that discretion. Under the Emergency Powers Act inmates who have been granted parole, completed their course of action and have a parole plan are released when the prison population exceeds 98 percent. Under the 90-day EPA window, Gregory could have been released earlier, but the Board imposed a release date at the end of the time frame. In addition, the Board required Gregory to complete a course of action. Howard says the Board did as much as it could under Act 534 to hold Gregory as long as possible. Once he met and completed all the requirements, they were compelled to release him.

Gregory was transferred from the Baxter County Detention Center to the Arkansas Department of Correction Monday after waiving his parole violation hearing earlier in the day, according to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery. Gregory was given 10 months to serve on his original charges stemming from an incident in 2014.

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