A North Little Rock businessman running for justice of the peace in Pulaski County on Wednesday acknowledged his convictions on misdemeanor charges, including third-degree domestic battery, and said the incidents stem from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, for which he believes he has been successfully treated.
"I've been clean, and I'm living a sober life," Jesse Macom-Teague said.
Macom-Teague, a 33-year-old insurance broker at his Macom-Teague agency, is the Republican candidate running for justice of the peace in District 15. His opponent is Democrat Staci Medlock, a 46-year-old real estate agent at Crye-Leike.
Incumbent Shane Stacks, a Republican, is not seeking re-election in the district, which includes a large swath of central North Little Rock north of Interstate 40.
Macom-Teague served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999 until 2002 and worked in communications with several infantry units in Afghanistan, he said. He said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return to Arkansas in 2002.
"I did what I did," Macom-Teague said. "I make no excuses. I try everyday to become a better person ... I don't think I should be disqualified because I made mistakes."
Macom-Teague said he has been treated for alcoholism since an April 22, 2009, arrest for driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license.
H.L. Moody, second vice chairman of the Pulaski County Democratic Committee, sent out a news release this week about Macom-Teague's criminal record.
"There are also a lot of people who came back with PTSD who did not commit domestic battery," Moody said in a interview.
"I think if voters had known [about] them from the very beginning, they would have had a much easier decision," he said.
Macom-Teague entered a negotiated guilty plea to third-degree domestic battery on Feb. 11, 2009, involving the woman who is now his wife, Sandra Janiszewski.
Janiszewski told police on Aug. 10, 2008, that Macom-Teague hit her in the head during an argument and choked her, according to a North Little Rock police report. Police reported swelling to Janiszewski's lips, abrasions on her face and redness on her neck. The two had been dating for more than two years at the time, police said.
Macom-Teague was sentenced to one year's probation and a domestic abuse class, according to court records.
Macom-Teague was also charged with second-degree domestic battery against a different woman, Catherine Curtis, in 2005 -- the same year he reported being abused by her. The case did not appear in court records, but Macom-Teague twice petitioned for an order of protection from Curtis that year. The orders were dismissed.
From 2002-04, Macom-Teague was charged with public intoxication, driving with a suspended license, careless and prohibited driving and several failures to appear in court. He entered no contest pleas in all those cases on Dec. 5, 2005, and was fined several hundred dollars.
On Wednesday, Macom-Teague's campaign posted a reference to Philippians 4:13 on its Facebook page: "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. This includes changing to please Him."
Medlock said she was not available for an interview Wednesday afternoon but wrote in an email that she believes voters should consider Macom-Teague's record at the polls.
"With public safety as the top of the issues, the voters of District 15 should be concerned," she wrote.
Macom-Teague said he cares about public safety and understands it as someone who has dealt with the system and "come out on the other side."
"I am a glowing example of somebody that took responsibility for the things that they did," he said.
Macom-Teague and Medlock have each stressed public safety as their top priorities in the race, both emphasizing raises for law enforcement officers.
Macom-Teague has also suggested the county look into ways to address the root problems of crime in the community.
Medlock has said she wants to see more beds open at the jail and to re-evaluate the contract with the state for holding inmates in the jail's work center.
Circuit court record searches for the other 16 opposed candidates for justice of the peace in Pulaski County did not immediately yield prior nontraffic-court convictions for any of the candidates.
Information for this article was contributed by Spencer Willems of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 10/30/2014