Correction: Charges of three counts of theft of property and one count of burglary against Hot Springs lawyer Andrea Davis, 37, in the Jan. 2, 2014, break-in at the home of a Garland County public defender were dropped by the prosecution. This article on a plea made by Davis’ brother in the 2012 death of Maxwell Anderson incorrectly stated the status of Andrea Davis’ charges in the other case.
HOT SPRINGS -- The brother of a Hot Springs lawyer pleaded guilty Thursday to negligent homicide and was sentenced to a year's probation in a February 2012 shooting death in which both siblings were charged with manslaughter.
Garland County Circuit Judge Lynn Williams accepted the plea agreement from Matthew Davis, 33, of San Francisco, who was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and $150 in court costs, as well as perform 80 hours of community service.
Davis' probation will be transferred to California, provided that Arkansas Department of Community Correction rules are followed.
Last spring, Davis and his sister, Hot Springs lawyer Andrea Davis, 37, pleaded innocent to manslaughter charges in the Feb. 29, 2012, death of their business associate, Maxwell Anderson, 34, of Garland County.
The prosecution said Matthew Davis shot Anderson in the chest at close range with a Smith & Wesson Governor revolver during a botched methamphetamine deal.
Andrea Davis is scheduled for a pretrial hearing May 27 at the Garland County Courthouse in Hot Springs. She has also pleaded innocent to use of a communication device in the furtherance of a felony, as well as to the manslaughter charge.
She also faces three counts of theft of property and one count of burglary stemming from an unrelated break-in at the home of a Garland County public defender that was reported on Jan. 2, 2014.
Andrea Davis also made headlines when former Attorney General Dustin McDaniel publicly announced he had been in an "inappropriate" relationship with Davis, shortly before ending his gubernatorial campaign.
Matthew Davis' defense attorney, Little Rock lawyer Bill James, said Thursday that Matthew Davis was "protecting his sister is what he was doing" when he shot Anderson.
"They [the prosecution] thought we used more force than necessary, and we felt like we hadn't done anything wrong," James said. "Neither of us wanted to go to trial. This is a good deal for everybody. You never know what a jury is going to do."
Saline County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brian Clary, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, would not say Thursday whether Andrea Davis will be offered the same plea agreement. Clary also said he could not comment on the specifics of why Matthew Davis was offered a plea deal.
"I cannot say anything without getting into the facts of the case," Clary said.
Anderson's sister, Tara Lukach, said the family is "in shock" by Thursday's plea deal. The prosecution "has been really good at being in contact with the family," Lukach said, but they had no idea the sentence would be "this lenient."
"We are thoroughly and severely disappointed. He served only four hours in jail for killing my brother," Lukach said. "He got absolutely no jail time and only a year's probation. It breaks my heart. I've lost a lot of faith in the justice system. It took more than three years to get pleaded out."
At the time of the shooting, Andrea Davis called 911 to report that Anderson had attacked her at her 251 Ledgerwood Drive home and that her brother had shot Anderson in self-defense.
When deputies reached the home, they found Anderson dead outside and signs of a struggle inside the house. Both Andrea and Matthew Davis told investigators that Anderson had attacked Andrea Davis with a golf club during an argument and later pulled a knife on Matthew Davis.
There were several differences found between the brother and sister's accounts, as well as conflicting physical evidence and text-message records, which investigators said indicated that Anderson was killed over a botched drug deal.
According to investigators' affidavits, two days before he was killed, Andrea Davis had made arrangements with Anderson via text messages to buy $1,200 in methamphetamine.
A series of phone calls and heated text messages were exchanged over the next three days among the three as the Davises became convinced that Anderson had ripped them off, detectives said in an affidavit.
"The calls and heated text continue[d] into Wednesday, up until just prior to [Anderson's] death," detectives wrote in the affidavit. "In furtherance of that [drug felony], we believe the confrontation at the Davis residence over the drugs and money led to the death of [Anderson]."
A week after Anderson was pronounced dead in the driveway of Andrea Davis' home, Anderson's live-in girlfriend opened her locked mailbox and found an iPhone box filled with 18.8862 grams of methamphetamine, detectives wrote in the affidavit.
The manslaughter charge and the charge concerning use of a communication device are both Class C felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Andrea Davis -- who was also found guilty of five counts of contempt of court -- is free on $75,000 bond pending trial.
The first count occurred in early 2013, when Andrea Davis did not appear in court as scheduled on the same day that McDaniel publicly announced a previous relationship with Davis.
The manslaughter charge and the charge concerning use of a communication device that Andrea Davis still faces are both Class C felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Andrea Davis' attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, would not comment Thursday when asked if she has also been offered a plea agreement.
"I will reserve my remarks for inside the courtroom," Rosenzweig said. "Obviously we were quite aware of the [Matthew Davis] plea deal beforehand. He and his attorney felt that was the thing he wanted to do. He has a very good lawyer. That's really all I have to say."
Lukach said the family will be at Andrea Davis' court hearing and is hoping the deal does not match the one handed Thursday to Matthew Davis.
"Anything could happen. It could be like this one. It's important that we're there to at least get some kind of closure," Lukach said. "I am just at a loss for words. It's been a long, painful and traumatic road to end up with nearly no results."
State Desk on 05/15/2015