Jury finds Arkansas man guilty in killing of farmer during dispute over dicamba

BLYTHEVILLE — It took a Mississippi County Circuit Count jury a little more than an hour Thursday evening to convict Allan Curtis Jones of second-degree murder in the shooting of Mike Wallace during an October 2016 dispute over the application of the herbicide dicamba.

Jones, 27, of Arbyrd, Mo., was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Wallace, a Mississippi County soybean and cotton farmer.

Circuit Judge Cindy Thyer said after closing arguments early Thursday evening that she hoped the jury of six men and six women would render its decision that evening. It took only an hour and six minutes for jurors to return with the second-degree murder conviction and an enhancement of using a firearm to commit murder.

Jones was sentenced to 18 years in prison on the murder charge, and was given an additional six years in prison for the enhancement.

Jones admitted in testimony Thursday to shooting Wallace on Oct. 27, 2016, on Mississippi County Road 38 after Wallace called him and accused him of lying about using dicamba, a broad-spectrum herbicide used on soybeans. Wallace said Jones used dicamba on land near Wallace’s farm and the herbicide had killed Wallace’s pear trees and other plants.

Jones testified that Wallace told him to meet him on the road and if he failed to show up, Wallace would “find me and get me.”

Prosecutors contended that Jones wanted to fight Wallace after Wallace cursed at him earlier that day during phone calls.

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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