Accused murderer back behind bars in Searcy County
A man accused of murder who broke out of the Searcy County Jail in Marshall is back behind bars after being captured late Monday night after being on the run for two days. A spokesperson at the Searcy County Jail says 31-year-old Matthew Armstrong was arrested by Searcy County sheriff deputies and U.S. Marshalls after he was discovered hiding in a church in Marshall. No other details of his capture have been released.
Sheriff Joey Pruitt says another inmate, Jason Christian, created a disturbance within the jail and assaulted a deputy jailer Saturday evening allowing Armstrong and another inmate, Jason Brannon, to escape. Brannon, held on a count of failure to register as a sex offender, was caught Sunday morning by the Marshall Police Department.
Multiple agencies were involved in the search for Armstrong including the Arkansas State Police; Marshall City Police; sheriff’s offices from Marion, Stone, Boone, Newton, Van Buren, Pope and Benton Counties; the Arkansas Department of Correction K-9 team; Arkansas Community Corrections; Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; and the National Park Service.
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Yellville teen suspect in school burglary makes first court appearance
A Yellville teen charged with four felony offenses in connection with a burglary at Yellville-Summit Public Schools made his first appearance in Marion County Circuit Court Wednesday.
Online court records indicate 17-year-old Robert Trey Dickerson entered a plea of not guilty to charges of theft, theft of a firearm, commercial burglary and criminal mischief.
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigating a burglary at the schools on the morning of June 27th discovered the duty belt of a reserve deputy had been taken. The duty belt contained the officer’s weapon, extra magazines and other tools used in the course of his job.
Investigators observed a large broken window as the point of entry. The outside of the maintenance building had been spray painted with graffiti, along with the outside security camera.
In one of the offices entered at the school officers were able to lift usable latent fingerprints from two of the computer monitors destroyed during in the break-in. The hard drive for the security system and a computer tower were also destroyed in the same office. The officer’s duty belt containing his pistol, three magazines, portable radio, handcuffs, pepper spray, body armor and the badge from his uniform were taken from the same office.
Officers returned to the school about an hour later when a male juvenile, indicating he had information about the case, asked to speak with them.
The juvenile told officers he went to Dickerson’s apartment the prior evening to engage in PlayStation games with the teen and another juvenile. Dickerson and the juvenile began talking about breaking into the bus garage at the school and taking the duty belt. The two said they had used a rock to break a window and gain access.
The juvenile told law enforcement he had seen the gun and other items taken, with Dickerson allegedly playing with the weapon. Redactions in the affidavit indicate one of the two juveniles told Dickerson to put the gun away or he would call the police.
The juvenile said when he left the apartment, the gun belt was in the trunk of Dickerson’s vehicle.
The two who reportedly broke into the Yellville-Sumit Schools were located at Dickerson’s mother’s apartment in Flippin and were taken to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for questioning and released.
Sheriff Clinton Evans advised of the situation traveled to the Flippin apartment to secure the residence and Dickerson’s vehicle, while his officers worked to obtain a search warrant. A short time later, Sheriff Evans advised Dickerson and his parents had relinquished the stolen property.
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BRMC closing 2 clinics, welcoming new pediatrician
As Baxter Regional Medical Center officials announced Thursday they will close two area clinics, they were also welcoming a new pediatrician in a post on the hospital’s website.
In a press conference Thursday morning, David Fox, BRMC Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, says the Clinic at Walmart and Baxter Regional Rheumatology Clinic, both in Mountain Home, will close at the end of August.
Patients are encouraged to continue to take advantage of the services offered at The Clinic at Walmart until it closes August 31st. Fox says about 100 patients utilize The Clinic at Walmart monthly.
When BRMC opened The Clinic at Walmart, it was a step taken to fill a void as the hospital looked at the comprehensive needs of the community. With an alternative urgent care offering now in Mountain Home, Fox says hospital officials took another look at the local healthcare market.
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Fox says Dr. Safwan Sakr of Baxter Regional Rheumatology Clinic has notified BRMC he has taken a position with another organization in central Arkansas. Dr. Sakr has practiced locally for 15 years and was Mountain Home’s first rheumatologist.
Fox says Dr. Sakr’s departure coupled with challenges in recruitment of a rheumatologist over the past few years led to the decision to close this clinic.
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Fox says in the meantime, the approximately 400 patients of the Baxter Regional Rheumatology Clinic will have the option of following Dr. Sakr to his new practice or securing a new rheumatologist in areas such as Harrison and Jonesboro.
Securing a pediatrician for its medical staff has also been a challenge for BRMC. Dr. Samantha Shipman will join the practice of Dr. Michael Adkins at Lincoln Paden Medical Group on August 1st.
A native of Yellville, Dr. Shipman earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
She completed a pediatrics residency at UAMS and received the 2015 W.T. Dungan Award for Excellence in Pediatrics at Arkansas Childrens Hospital and the Chairmans Scholar Award at UAMS.
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Bids for Baxter County jail expansion ready for awarding
Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass is preparing to award bids for the planned $4.2 million expansion of the Baxter County Detention Center through a court order.
On June 27th, 35 bids were opened and announced by SouthBuild Team Construction Manager Don Abernathy. SouthBuild Team is a Tennessee-based construction group especially targeted toward jail projects.
The project breaks down into 19 bid packages representing the various construction components needed for the expansion. From those 19 packages, Judge Pendergrass said the court order he is about to file awards bids in 13 areas.
He says bids were not received in three areas, and three others were rejected. Additional information on the court order concerning the three rejected packages indicate in two cases packages will be bid again and in a third the particular, unspecified function will be completed by the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
Those bid packages rejected through the court order or not having a bidder will be resubmitted by August 15th at 3:00 p.m. in the Baxter County Courthouse.
The two-page court order lists the bid packages by number, the awarded entity and the bid price.
Those awarded bids for larger packages of over $100,000 are Masonry IV, Inc., HDI Contractors, Dilbeck Excavation, Tom Davenport Concrete, Crawford Electric, Cushman’s Climate Control, C.A. Owens and Associates, and LaGasse Construction, Inc.
Judge Pendergrass told KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot news some of the bids were under estimates, while others were over. He calls the bid for the ground work “good.”
Construction of the jail expansion will be funded by a one percent sales tax collected for six months. Collection began on April 1st and will run through September 30th.
At this point, only the amount of collections in April, reported in June, is known.
For the month of April, the one percent sales tax generated $541,138.54.
An ongoing one-quarter of one percent sales and use tax for continued jail operation expenses will begin January 1st, 2019.
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MH teacher wins payoff of a lifetime
A Twin Lakes Area woman has won the payoff of a lifetime. Stephonie Bennett Ifland of Mountain Home appeared on the Today Show Wednesday morning and walked away with $33,000 of her student loan debt paid for as a part of a new segment on the show called “Paid Off with KLG and Hoda.”
Ifland says she has been a long time fan of the Today Show, which is how she found out about the contest.
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Ifland says she found out about being chosen over the phone.
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Ifland is a third grade teacher at Hackler Intermediate School in Mountain Home. She moved to Mountain Home from Dallas when she was 6-years-old and attended Mountain Home Public Schools from first through 12th grade. Following high school, Ifland attended Arkansas State University-Mountain Home, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. She lives in Mountain Home with her husband and 4-year-old daughter Samira.
“Paid Off with KLG and Hoda” is a new segment of the Today Show offering contestants the chance to compete to have their student loans paid. In order to take part, contestants submit a 60-second video explaining why they need help paying off student loans. Those chosen appear on the Today Show to compete.
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