HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man who stabbed two people, killing one and seriously injuring the other, during a confrontation at a trailer park in 2012 pleaded guilty to charges Thursday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Fielding Vaughn Kimery II, 39, who has remained in custody in lieu of $1 million bond since his arrest the day of the altercation Sept. 6, 2012, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the death of Latisha Pilgrim, 21, of Hot Springs. He also pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in the attack on Armen Gaylon Crawford, 42, of Hot Springs.
Kimery was sentenced to 40 years and 30 years respectively, set to run concurrently. Deputy prosecutor Joe Graham said under sentencing guidelines, Kimery will have to serve at least 70 percent, or 28 years, of the 40-year murder sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Graham said Kimery had initially rejected the plea offer made by prosecutors, but "we had some conversations," and he had indicated he would be willing to take a slightly lower offer. Pilgrim's mother had suggested a deal, he added.
"I felt it was a good plea based on a variety of factors," Graham said, noting they had withdrawn an additional felony charge of first-degree battery stemming from chemicals Kimery threw in Crawford's face because that offense was effectively merged into the attempted murder count.
Graham said Crawford had also agreed to Kimery taking the plea deal and noted that Kimery's defense would have tried blaming Pilgrim's death on Crawford.
The events occurred in the early morning hours at Crawford's mobile home at 108 Skyview Terrace, where Kimery and Pilgrim, who was reportedly dating Crawford, were both visiting.
Graham said Crawford was the only living witness to the events, although another neighbor in the trailer park had been over at Crawford's trailer earlier that morning and told Hot Springs police that he saw Kimery "sharpening a knife."
Graham said Kimery initially said he wasn't there when the events occurred and came up on the scene immediately afterward, but then later said he was trying to protect Pilgrim from Crawford when the stabbing occurred.
"[Kimery] didn't have a mark on him though, so that wasn't very likely," he said, noting that Kimery's girlfriend had also told police that Kimery had said he was planning on robbing Crawford and Pilgrim.
Kimery was classified as a habitual offender; he was previously convicted of felony counts of robbery and commercial burglary.
State Desk on 08/16/2014