The North Little Rock man accused of killing a volunteer firefighter who was coming to his aid last year appeared in court Monday for a status hearing before his April trial.
Mark Eugene Pruitt, 48, appeared in Judge Barry Sims' courtroom Monday morning on a charge of manslaughter in the death of 29-year-old Ronald Jason Adams, a volunteer firefighter with the East Pulaski department and a lieutenant for the Sherwood Fire Department. Pruitt could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
At Pruitt's brief court appearance, another hearing was scheduled for April 6, five days before his trial is set to begin. Pruitt's defense counsel also informed the judge that they have three witnesses they are planning to call who they need to disclose to prosecuting attorney John Johnson.
Police say that in January 2016, Adams was sent to Pruitt's home on Dortch Loop in response to an emergency call for a man having a seizure. Pruitt, a self-employed car dealer, is accused of shooting and killing Adams when he entered the residence.
In an interview with examiners at the State Hospital, Pruitt told the officials he remembered waking up and seeing a man walk down the hallway toward his bedroom and thinking he was an "intruder."
"I blacked out, and the next thing I remember is the flash of the gun going off," Pruitt was quoted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as saying.
Sims previously ruled that Pruitt is competent to stand trial after a state evaluation deemed that he is not mentally ill. In the evaluation, doctors diagnosed Pruitt with cocaine-use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Four of Adams' family members sat on wooden benches to watch Pruitt appear before the judge, like they have for each of the appearances, said Phylis Stroud, Adams' mother. She, Adams' grandmother, his cousin and the father of his fiancee gathered in the hallway after Pruitt's time in front of Sims was over.
Stroud said it is "very hard" to walk into the courtroom and see Pruitt's demeanor, which she described as "smiling, winking, laughing" and "cutting up." She said she is anxious for the trial to be over so all of them can move on.
"It's time the family has some closure," Stroud said.
Metro on 03/14/2017