A judge on Monday barred prosecutors from using the testimony of two federal inmates -- men the defense called "jailhouse snitches" -- at the capital-murder trial of a North Little Rock restaurateur accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child.
Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Quenton Edward King over accusations the married father of two gunned down 36-year-old Megan Price after she had posted on Facebook that she was nine months pregnant with his child.
Police say King, 36, and Price, who had two other children, had a 14-year relationship but that he wanted her dead last year because he would "lose everything" if his wife found out Price was pregnant. King and his wife, whom he married in October 2000, own the Chicken King restaurants in Little Rock and North Little Rock.
He's charged with two counts of capital murder and has been jailed since his arrest nine days after Price's nude body was found in her North Little Rock home in June 2015. She had been shot in the head three times. Her oldest daughter told police that the last time she spoke with her mother, Price had been looking forward to spending two days alone with King. He is scheduled to stand trial in October.
At issue Monday was whether prosecutors could use the testimony of the inmates, 41-year-old Bobby Altwon Hart of Little Rock and 39-year-old Carlos Deablis Futrell of Memphis, as evidence of motive against King. Circuit Judge Herb Wright had to hear what both men would say before deciding whether they'd be allowed to testify before a jury.
Both men said they'd heard King complain about Price and say that he wanted her killed. Deputy prosecutor Jeanna Sherrill said the men would help prove the state's theory of the slaying, which is that any time King's relationship with Price soured, he would start talking about having her killed, even trying to do it himself, particularly when he was worried that his wife might find out, divorce him and take all of their property.
Defense attorney Ron Davis argued that the men's testimony would do more to make his client look bad in front of jurors than it would prove anything about Price's death.
Testimony by Futrell that he had twice bought drugs from King would be harmful to King getting a fair trial since there's no allegation that drug dealing had anything to do with Price's slaying, Davis said.
He called Futrell's testimony particularly incredible because the man could not pick King out of a police photo lineup or accurately describe the furniture at the Chicken King restaurant where he said he heard King talking about killing Price after they had argued at the restaurant in February 2015.
Davis suggested that Hart could be motivated by rumors that King was responsible for the still-unsolved April 2011 slaying of David Tidwell, a 37-year-old drug dealer shot to death near Sweet Home, who had cooperated with federal prosecutors in a murder case.
Hart acknowledged on the stand that Tidwell had been his friend, but he did not address Davis' insinuation that Hart was cooperating with prosecutors to get at King.
Hart testified that in August 2012, King had asked him to "take care" of his "side-b***h Megan" for him.
"He said, 'the b***h is causing problems between me and my wife. Can you take care of her?'" Hart told the judge.
Hart said he was taken aback by the request and asked for a couple of days to think about it. Hart said he never called King back but that the restaurant owner contacted him two weeks later and asked whether Hart had a "price" or could recommend someone to do it. Hart said he declined to be involved.
Davis also argued that both inmates were really trying to get their prison sentences reduced. Each could have his prison time cut in half for helping prosecutors, providing they do it quickly enough after they are sentenced, Davis told the judge.
Hart was sentenced to nearly 21 years in February for cocaine trafficking, his third federal conviction, and Futrell received a 14-year sentence in September for methamphetamine trafficking.
Both inmates testified that their intentions in cooperating with prosecutors were altruistic, telling the judge that while they might be drug dealers, they did not associate with anyone who killed women and children.
"She was a female with a baby," Futrell testified. "In my line of work -- drugs -- women and babies are off limits."
Futrell testified that while he was with a friend, Freddie Glass, at the North Little Rock restaurant for Glass to pick up a package of drugs from King, he saw King and Price arguing. After the woman left, King walked up to him and Glass and said Price was causing him trouble and that he wanted to kill her, Futrell said.
"Quenton was like, 'I should have finished what I started with this b***h. She's really causing trouble. I should kill her,'" Futrell testified.
King also talked about having burned down Price's home, Futrell said.
In October 2011, King was charged with attempted capital murder after Price accused him of being the man who set her North Little Rock home on fire while she and her daughters were inside the residence. But those charges were dropped the following year when she testified she wasn't sure who she'd seen start the fire.
Metro on 06/14/2016