Almost three years to the day that a Little Rock father of two was found fatally shot, the man convicted of his April 2010 murder was sentenced to 65 years in prison.
Errick Dewayne Harrell, 35, will have to serve 41 years before he can qualify for parole.
Ishmail Haqq was found fatally wounded April 13, 2010, at Rock and 28th streets behind the wheel of his crashed car.
The 30-year-old Little Rock man was last seen alive on that date by his wife when he left their Little Rock apartment after telling her he was going to “kick it” in Little Rock’s south end with friends named “Twin” and “Lil Hustler.”
At his trial last month, prosecutors said Twin was a nickname used by Harrell, who was known to be a drug dealer, and they linked him to the killing with DNA on a cell phone found near Haqq’scrashed car.
In an interview with police, Harrell said he had been out drinking with Haqq that day and might have handled the cell phone, but he testified at trial that he did not know Haqq and denied ownership of the phone.
He testified that he’d been framed through a conspiracy by the FBI, CIA and U.S. Marshals Service, and appeared to repeat those claims in a stammering statement to the judge at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
Haqq’s widow, Latonya Haqq, wept as she told the judge Tuesday that the couple’s children, ages 4 and 5, still ask where their daddy is and when they can see him.
“As the kids get older, they want to see their daddy, and they’re not old enough to understand that daddy’s gone and he’s not coming back,” she said.
Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, who considered the evidence last month without a jury at Harrell’s request, imposed the 65-year sentence Tuesday, which includes a five-year term for Harrell violating his suspended sentence on a 2008 conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Harrell also has an April 2010 conviction for being a felon with a firearm.
Deputy prosecutor Scott Duncan didn’t recommend a sentence but urged the judge not to go below sentencing guidelines, which recommended a 55-year sentence for someone with a criminal record like Harrell’s. He asked the judge to consider the family’s loss and the brutal nature of Haqq’s death.
Harrell’s attorney, Lott Rolfe IV, had argued at trial that his client was mentally ill - a defense psychologist diagnosed Harrell with schizophrenia last year, but state doctors repeatedly found Harrell to be sane and faking mental illness, including a doctor from the State Hospital who testified at Harrell’s first-degree murder trial in March.
Harrell’s attorney told the judge that he continues to believe his client has mental problems despite the findings by state doctors.
Harrell’s mother, Deborah Freeman, told the judge that she doesn’t believe her son killed Haqq and also said her son is mentally ill.
“I am not trying to make excuses, but he has had mental issues before coming to court,” Freeman said. “He’s been in trouble before, but nothing like this.”
Harrell’s sister, Tonya Harrell, testified during the sentencing hearing that she didn’t believe her brother had gotten a fair trial. She also told the judge that she’d heard that her brother’s sentence had been decided before the hearing, adding that she’d heard Piazza intended to impose a sentence that would match the term received by Errick Harrell’s twin brother.
Derrick Jermaine Harrell was sentenced to 47 years in 1996 for participating in the rape, robbery and assault of a 21-year-old Little Rock woman, court records show. He was one of three men convicted in the attack, and he won’t be eligible for parole for another 10 years.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 04/17/2013