3 charged in fatal beating of Booneville man

Three men were charged in Logan County Circuit Court on Friday with first-degree murder in the beating death of a Booneville man this week.

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Charges were filed against James Lane, 33, and John H. Massey Jr., 40, both of Booneville, and William L. Strickland, 32, of Branch, according to criminal complaints filed in Booneville by Prosecuting Attorney Tom Tatum II.

According to an affidavit for the arrest warrants for the men, Strickland and Lane beat Gregory Vance Kennedy, 40, because he had helped beat Strickland's pregnant girlfriend.

A news release from the Booneville Police Department said Kennedy showed up at the Mercy Hospital emergency room in Booneville about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and died there. The affidavit, written by Arkansas State Police Cpl. Phillip A. Pierce, stated that Kennedy was driven in a private vehicle and died in the hospital at 3:04 p.m. from injuries from an attack.

About 90 minutes later, Booneville police received a call that the men responsible for the attack on Kennedy were in a room at the Capri Motel. Strickland and Lane were arrested in one of the rooms. The affidavit did not say when or how Massey was arrested.

A witness, Jessica Ritchie, told officers she saw the attack. She said Massey was at Amanda Neitert's home at 514 4th St. in Booneville. He drove away in his car but returned minutes later with Lane and Strickland.

Massey, in a statement to investigators Tuesday, said he knew that Strickland and Lane were angry at Kennedy for the beating of Strickland's girlfriend, and he left to get them when he saw Kennedy arrive at Neitert's home.

Ritchie told officers that Lane and Strickland sneaked up on a car occupied by Kennedy, pulled him out and began beating him.

Kennedy broke away at one point, she said, but the men chased him down, knocked him to the ground and continued to beat him for five to eight minutes. Then they ran and got back into Massey's car and drove off.

"John Massey Jr. said Gregory Kennedy got what he deserved," the affidavit stated.

The affidavit stated that Strickland had what appeared to be blood on the right leg of his jeans and a long, fresh scratch on his upper left chest.

Lane appeared to have blood on the right and left legs of his pants and on the front and back of his shirt. He also had a long, fresh scratch on his left abdomen, according to the affidavit.

Strickland and Lane refused to be interviewed by the investigators but asked for legal counsel, according to the affidavit.

Metro on 07/26/2014

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