A judge denied bail for two teens accused of killing a mother in front of her 2-year-old daughter and then stealing the woman's purse Sunday.
Kevin Williams, 15, and Ramale Collier, 18, appeared by video from the Pulaski County jail in front of Little Rock District Court Judge Alice Lightle Monday morning. Lightle rejected a public defender's request that the pair be given the lowest possible bond in the case.
The teens have been charged with capital murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and theft. They turned themselves in separately overnight after being named suspects by police.
A prosecutor for the state said both teens have prior criminal histories and theft charges.
One of the two confessed to the crime, the prosecutor said, noting the likelihood of a conviction while asking for the pair to be held without bail.
Williams, a ninth-grade student in Little Rock, stood with his arms crossed during the hearing. He shook his head and looked up as Lightle ordered him held without bond.
Collier, a senior at McClellan High School, lingered for a few moments after his bail was denied.
While court was in session, Little Rock police released a report that included more details from witnesses who described the killing of Eunice Lopez, 27, as a purse snatching-turned-shooting.
According to the report, witnesses described seeing two men attempt to take Lopez's purse as she stood in her driveway with her two-year-old daughter.
The purse caught on her shoulder, and dragged Lopez as the thief shot her, the report says.
Police found Lopez lying in her driveway and took her to UAMS Medical Center, where she died, the report stated.
6:56 a.m. UPDATE
A 15-year-old is in custody Monday morning after being named a suspect in the killing of a mother who was held up and shot while carrying her 2-year-old child Sunday, police said.
Kevin Williams, of Little Rock, was booked into the Pulaski County jail around 1:35 a.m. and charged with capital murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and theft of property, according to jail records.
Initial details of his arrest were not available from the department.
Another suspect in the shooting, 18-year-old Ramale Collier, turned himself in Sunday night and was being held Monday on the same charges, police said.
Little Rock police say the mother, Eunice Lopez, 27, was standing outside her home on Keats Drive, holding her daughter, when she was shot in an apparent robbery of her purse and other items.
Police initially interviewed four boys found nearby, but did not charge them. Later Sunday they announced they were searching for Williams and Collier.
Lopez's killing was the second of three homicides to occur Sunday, bringing the total for the month and new year up to five.
