Darrell Dennis, the Little Rock murder suspect whose arrest while on parole prompted a legislative review of the prison system's early-release programs, is not mentally ill, according to the results of a psychological review received Tuesday by a Pulaski County circuit judge.
Judge Chris Piazza ordered the mental evaluation after Dennis, 48, repeatedly accused his court-appointed attorney, Bill James, of colluding against him with the prosecutors who are seeking a life sentence for him on charges of capital murder, kidnapping and firearm possession.
James took over Dennis' legal representation in December after Dennis was allowed to drop his first appointed attorney when he complained that her representation of him on drug charges had led to the 60-year prison sentence he is now serving.
In a two-minute court appearance, Piazza accepted the 15-page report by psychologist Mark Peacock at the State Hospital that found no evidence that Dennis has mental illness.
James told the judge Tuesday that he had never questioned Dennis' sanity and that the defense accepted the findings from the State Hospital, with the judge formally certifying Dennis as competent to stand trial.
The judge has said he wanted Dennis to undergo the mental exam before taking up the issue of whether Dennis could act as his own lawyer.
Dennis has petitioned the court to be allowed to represent himself, and the judge said he'd take up that question at the next hearing Aug. 7, about six weeks before Dennis' September trial.
Dennis has denied wrongdoing and accused authorities of deliberately distorting evidence to frame him while knowing that he's innocent.
Police say Dennis is one of three men responsible for the May 2013 slaying of Forrest Henry Abrams, 18, who was found shot dead near Woodrow and West 11th streets.
The two other men have not been identified, but police say one is nicknamed Lil E, and they were seen driving a 1987 to 1993 sky-blue Buick Century, which has a "loud exhaust pipe" and has been regularly seen in the area near Asher Avenue and Maple Street.
When Dennis was arrested three weeks after the slaying, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that he had been released from jail 32 hours before Abrams was found dead. Dennis was an eight-time parole absconder who was awaiting trial on 10 new felony drug charges at the time of the slaying, but he had never had a parole revocation hearing since he'd been released from prison 4½ years earlier.
He has since been convicted of the new charges and sentenced to 60 years.
The revelation about his parole status prompted a legislative inquiry into the operations of the state's Department of Community Correction, which oversees the supervised release programs.
The agency's longtime director resigned and was replaced during a review by lawmakers, which led to the implementation of a new policy requiring parolees who are charged with either a new felony or multiple misdemeanors to remain jailed until they face a parole review. The department also rescinded a 6-year-old policy that allowed absconders to end parole by avoiding arrest until time had run out on their sentences.
Prosecutors say Dennis abducted Abrams and 23-year-old Tyler Hodges at gunpoint from the parking lot of the Golden Foods convenience store at 12th and Woodrow streets. Hodges has identified Dennis as their abductor, court records show.
Hodges told police he had just met Abrams that night at a party and that they had gone to the convenience store in Abrams' 2001 red Chevrolet Tracker. He told police he had just purchased cigarettes when he saw Abrams negotiating with a man to buy crack cocaine, according to court records.
Hodges said the man eventually pulled a gun on Hodges and Abrams and then drove them in the Tracker to an unknown location where the gunman was joined by two other men. The three demanded money, threatening to kill the two if they could not come up with cash, Hodges told police. He said the trio put the two men into a car and took them to an ATM, where an attempt to withdraw money was unsuccessful.
Hodges said he talked the robbers into taking them to his cousin's Booker Street home to get money. There, he was able to escape into the residence and call 911, while the three men left with Abrams still in their car, a police report said.
Metro on 07/16/2014