The trial of a North Little Rock man accused of killing a volunteer firefighter who was going to his rescue has been scheduled for late November.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims set the manslaughter trial of Mark Eugene Pruitt for Nov. 28. Deputy prosecutor Jeanna Sherrill said the proceeding would likely take two days.
Pruitt, 48, is charged with manslaughter, a Class C felony, over accusations he gunned down 29-year-old Ronald Jason Adams inside Pruitt's Dortch Loop home in January. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Authorities said Adams, responding to a pre-dawn emergency call about a man suffering a seizure at the Pruitt home, was fatally shot inside the residence.
Adams, who volunteered with the East Pulaski Volunteer Fire Department and was a lieutenant for the Sherwood department, was sent to the home because he was the closest emergency responder, authorities said.
Court and property records show Adams also lived on Dortch Loop in a house owned by his fiancee, a little more than a half-mile from Pruitt's residence.
Pruitt's attorney, Christian Alexander, entered an innocent plea on his client's behalf. Pruitt did not speak during the brief appearance, his first in Circuit Court to face formal charges. His next appearance, a pretrial hearing, is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Adams' name was added to the Arkansas Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the state Capitol in a March ceremony. His slaying also prompted Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services of Little Rock to test body armor for its ambulance workers.
Property records show Pruitt bought his house in January 2006, and that he and his wife transferred ownership of the property, plus property they owned on Arkansas 70, to trusts established in their names about three months after the slaying.
Pruitt operates Mark Pruitt Auto Sales & Services Inc. at 14021 Saddlewood Drive in North Little Rock, which is about a quarter-mile from Pruitt's home, property records show. According to corporate filings, the company was formed in August 2005, with Pruitt listed as president, vice president and fiscal controller. His wife, 47-year-old Tonja Jo Pruitt, is the company's secretary and treasurer.
Metro on 06/21/2016