Michael Lynn Scales, the 30-year-old Little Rock man accused in the death of his 12-year-old daughter in a street-racing crash last month, is a parolee whose testimony helped get his half brother arrested for capital murder and then sent to prison for life eight years ago.
At trial, Robert Lee "Rah Rah" Davis Jr., 34, claimed that Scales, who is his cousin, was the real killer who was trying to frame him for the February 2007 slaying of Larry Keith Taylor.
A Pulaski County jury deliberated less than an hour at Davis' April 2010 trial before finding him guilty as charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery.
But Scales, who testified as the prosecution's only eyewitness to the killing, had to go to prison, too. In exchange for his cooperation, Scales received a 20-year sentence in 2009 for participating in the fatal robbery, then hiding the gun that was used to kill Taylor.
Scales' most recent conviction was in June 2016 for misdemeanor fleeing for leading North Little Rock police on an Oct. 30, 2015, car chase.
According to a police report, the pursuit began when a North Little Rock officer saw a car parked next to Henderson's Old School Auto Sales at 1500 E. Broadway and doubled back to check it out.
The car sped off, with police in pursuit, eventually reaching Interstate 30. The chase ended on Roosevelt Road in Little Rock when the car hit a curb and came to a stop, according to a police report. The pursuing officer said he saw what looked like loose marijuana being thrown from the car during the chase.
Reports show that Scales was driving a 2006 black Ford Crown Victoria at the time.
Last month, Scales was driving a 2003 green Ford Crown Victoria when he collided with another driver in what North Little Rock authorities have described as a street race on Riverfront Drive. Scales' daughter, Aniya Dilworth, was fatally injured in the crash.
Scales, whose felony convictions include theft and domestic battering, is being held without bail on a parole warrant in the Pulaski County jail.
North Little Rock police have charged the father of three with manslaughter, street racing and child endangerment over the June 6 lunchtime car crash that also injured an 11-year-old boy who was a passenger in the second car, a maroon 2008 Ford Mustang.
According to a police report, Scales' Crown Victoria was torn in two when it hit a light post on the concrete median on Riverfront Drive.
The impact sent the car's front end, with the engine compartment, into the oncoming traffic lanes where it came to a stop next to the Mustang while the rest of the Scales car wrapped around the pole.
One witness described seeing both cars speeding east on Riverfront Drive and the Crown Victoria crossing into the Mustang's lane, striking the sports car on the right side. The impact caused both vehicles to go out of control, and they struck several trees and a street sign before the Scales car hit the light pole.
A second witness described Scales' vehicle as swerving into the Mustang, driven by 29-year-old Brandon Lamar Rogers of North Little Rock.
Rogers was also arrested after the crash, charged with street racing and child endangerment. He also is jailed without bail on a parole warrant. Police have not said whether Rogers and Scales knew each other before the crash.
Court records show that Rogers was on probation at the time of the crash. He had been recently released from the Pulaski County jail after serving a four-month term imposed after he pleaded guilty in November to two counts of theft by receiving for possessing stolen aluminum. He also was sentenced to five years on probation.
Court records show that North Little Rock detectives were able to link Rogers to the sale of 6,200 pounds of stolen aluminum ingots in February 2017. Rogers and an associate also were arrested with 100 aluminum ingots, court files show.
In May 2012, Rogers accepted a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to drug-trafficking and firearm charges. The charges stemmed from his arrest in November 2011 by North Little Rock police. He had a backpack containing crack cocaine, a pistol, marijuana and drug-packaging materials, court records show. Court records show Rogers was on probation at that time for a 2007 carjacking.
Metro on 07/08/2018