CONWAY -- A 14-year-old boy accused of slaying the couple raising him pleaded innocent Tuesday, as the adults to whom he is closest fought over who should be allowed to visit him in jail.
Justin Staton was wearing striped jail clothing and restraints when he stood between his two public defenders to plead innocent to capital-murder charges and other offenses in the July 21 shooting deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell.
The boy said nothing audible during his appearance before Judge Troy Braswell in Faulkner County Circuit Court.
Charges against Justin and his co-defendant, Hunter Drexel, 17, of Clinton include two counts each of capital murder, abuse of a corpse, theft of property by threat and aggravated robbery. Both are charged as adults and could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole because of their ages.
The Cogdells, both 66, had been Justin's permanent guardians since 2010, when court records indicate he still thought they were his paternal grandparents, despite genetic testing that had proved otherwise in 2008.
Justin was living with the Cogdells and their son, Shane Cogdell, at the time of the killings at their Conway home. But the teenager's biological grandfather, Randy Staton, filed a motion in April in Conway County Circuit Court seeking to be the boy's substitute guardian. That motion was still pending when the couple died.
Police say the shootings were part of a plan concocted in a youth lockup that was aimed at stealing money and credit cards.
In court Tuesday, defense attorney Gina Reynolds asked that she, rather than Shane Cogdell, be in charge of determining who gets to visit Justin in jail, where he is held without bail. She said Randy Staton was not being allowed to visit.
"My client really wants to see his maternal grandfather, and his maternal grandfather really wants to see him," Reynolds said.
Braswell, however, said he did not want to get involved in that dispute and suggested that Reynolds discuss the matter with the sheriff's office.
Even though Reynolds had earlier asked that her client be allowed to wear civilian clothes and go without restraints in court, she told Braswell that the current situation was OK, as long as the sheriff's office continues to take the boy to court through a basement rather than the main entrance, where the news media could take pictures of him. Such pictures of him in jail attire could taint a potential jury pool, she said.
Also Tuesday, Braswell granted a defense motion asking that police officers be required to save any notes they have taken during the crime's investigation. He noted, however, that if officers were going to destroy any notes, they probably did so long ago.
Braswell set an Oct. 28 pretrial hearing for Justin Staton.
At one point, the judge ordered that the courtroom be cleared but said family members and attorneys could stay. He did not give a reason, but one family member said it was to hear matters relating to Justin Staton's status as a minor.
After a short time, though, Cogdell and Staton family members left the courtroom, but not the attorneys. Randy Staton said someone was "making faces," so the judge ordered all of them removed.
Corrie Gillon, a niece of the Cogdells, said she had not visited Justin Staton because she's been busy trying to help her mother cope with the death of her sister, Patricia Cogdell.
"I want a fair trial," Gillon said. She believes the justice system has been fair so far, she said.
Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland has said that he expects to file charges against additional suspects. Police have said all suspects were in custody.
Police in north-central Texas arrested Drexler and two other teenagers, Anastasia Roberts and Conner Atchley, on July 23 and said they were being held, in part, as "persons of interest" in the Conway slayings. Texas authorities later turned all three teenagers over to Arkansas authorities.
Justin Staton's mother, Michelle Staton, was arrested on outstanding drug-related and failure-to-appear charges on the same day he was taken into custody at her home, hours after police found the couple's bodies. She was in jail without bail Tuesday.
On Aug. 10, Michelle Staton wrote a letter that is part of her case file. The handwritten letter, addressed to "whom it may concern," said she was "writing in regards to my court situation."
She said her next court date was more than two months away and added, "There is quite a lot going on in my life right now, not that isn't the case with everyone. Just my son is Justin Staton, the 14 yr old being falsely accused of a situation concerning his grandparents."
She continued, "My [son's] lawyers are asking me to help gather information in his defense, which is of course impossible to do in here.
"Im throwing myself at the mercy of the court, that you allow me to help my baby through this? If there is any way to move up the court date, or perhaps a bond hearing, I'd be eternally greatful?"
State Desk on 08/26/2015