SEARCY -- A man charged with capital murder in the 1994 disappearance of Searcy resident Jarrod Green has been freed on $100,000 bond, authorities said Thursday.
Brandon Wheeler, 41, of Weatherford, Texas, was charged in May with capital murder and abuse of a corpse and had been held without bail at the White County jail.
Circuit Judge Robert Edwards' order granting bail also set several other conditions for Wheeler's release.
The defendant and his wife had to surrender their passports while Wheeler's case is pending. Wheeler's wife may petition the court for her passport's return if necessary before the case concludes, the judge ruled.
Wheeler also must remain in Arkansas and live at the address his attorney has provided the court. He was not living in Arkansas at the time of his arrest.
A defense motion seeking bail had said the state had indicated it intended to waive the death penalty. In Arkansas, capital murder is punishable by death or life in prison without parole.
Wheeler's next pretrial hearing is set for July 17.
The exact date of Wheeler's release from jail was unavailable late Thursday.
State Desk on 06/16/2017