A Pulaski County circuit judge has ordered the arrest of a teenage capital-murder suspect after prosecutors reported he had been found with marijuana after crashing his car over the weekend.
Robert Chandler Harris, 19, of Jacksonville was hospitalized after the crash, so he was not arrested when sheriff's Deputy William Ablondi found almost an ounce of "high-grade" marijuana, 28 grams, in his right pants pocket, records show.
Harris instead received a citation to appear in Pulaski County District Court on Oct. 18 on a misdemeanor drug-possession charge.
But Judge Leon Johnson ordered Harris' arrest Wednesday after senior deputy prosecutor Melanie Martin reported how deputies had found Harris with marijuana.
Little Rock investigators examined the wrecked car because the crash near College Station occurred early Sunday about 10 minutes after a nearby Waffle House restaurant was robbed by a masked, rifle-toting person who took the cash register and drove off very fast, according to police reports. No arrests have been made in the robbery.
The crash was reported about 2:30 a.m. Deputies found an injured Harris behind the wheel of a white 2010 Hyundai Sonata with "massive damage" parked on top of a culvert on 3M Road about 200 yards north of Carter Street in College Station.
The car appeared to have run off 3M Road about 100 yards before coming to rest on the culvert, the report said. Makayla Garrett was in the front passenger seat, the report said.
There was blood on both of the car's front air bags, but Harris was the only one bleeding in the car, according to the report. Deputies also found blood about 10 feet behind the vehicle. Little Rock police collected evidence at the scene, the report said.
The crash was reported about 10 minutes after the holdup at the restaurant on Bankhead Drive in Little Rock, just south of Interstate 440 and Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, according to the deputy's report.
Harris is scheduled to stand trial in November on charges that he shot Michael Cook, a 28-year-old father of two, in July 2014, shortly after Harris turned 18.
Harris was jailed in April this year after prosecutors complained that he had contacted their chief witness in the murder case, 18-year-old Jonathan Turner of North Little Rock, by phone and tried to discourage him from coming to court.
Harris spent 3½ months in jail before posting $75,000 bond on July 16, four days before the second anniversary of Cook's slaying.
Harris has denied shooting Cook and accused Turner of being the real killer.
According to police testimony, Turner and another witness have told detectives that they were sitting in a parked car in the neighborhood with Harris listening to music.
Harris was showing off a pistol when Cook got into the car with them, according to police.
Turner said Harris shot Cook after telling Turner and the other passenger that he was going to take Cook's cellphone.
Police say Turner has described seeing Harris confront Cook, then chase the older man down the street while firing at him. Cook was shot in the back, arm and leg. Police collected 11 shell casings from a .40-caliber gun at the scene.
Metro on 09/16/2016