Two half brothers were charged Monday in Crawford County Circuit Court with capital murder in the slaying of a man last month whose decomposing body was uncovered from a shallow grave on rural property where the men lived.
Nicholas Barrows, 19, and Jonathan Bridgewater, 27, who lived off Arkansas 348 near Rudy, were charged in the June 24 shotgun slaying of Jamison Lee Plum, 19, of Alma. A news release from Prosecuting Attorney Marc McCune said he will decide whether to seek the death penalty after an investigation by the sheriff's office and a determination by his office on whether circumstances justifying the death penalty outweigh mitigating circumstances.
Conviction for capital murder carries a penalty of death or life in prison without parole.
Barrows and Bridgewater also were charged with committing a felony with a firearm that, according to the criminal complaint, allows a judge to add up to 15 years to a sentence.
In addition, Barrows was charged with criminal use of a prohibited weapon, accused of being in possession of three pipe bombs investigators found in his bedroom as they executed a search warrant connected to Plum's death investigation.
The two have been held in the Crawford County jail since June 30 in lieu of $250,000 bond.
An affidavit filed in the case stated that Barrows shot Plum on June 24 because Barrows believed Plum raped his girlfriend.
The affidavit stated that Elizabeth Henry, a girlfriend of Bridgewater, called the sheriff's office on June 30 to report the slaying. She said Bridgewater had led her into the woods on the property and showed her Plum's body that was covered by a tarp.
She told investigators that a few hours before being shown the body, she heard a gunshot, screams and another gunshot. Minutes later, Barrows emerged from the woods carrying a shotgun.
A cadaver dog found the shallow grave where Plum's decomposing body had been buried.
A Special Weapons and Tactics squad en route to the property in response to Henry's call on June 30 arrested Barrows and Bridgewater when the squad came across their disabled vehicle in Rudy. The two said they had run out of gas.
Metro on 07/24/2014