Two men have pleaded guilty in the robbery and abduction of a northeast Arkansas store employee who was later found dead along Interstate 555.
Dawaun Christopher Logan, 22, of Earle and Byron Ford, 25, of Lepanto each pleaded guilty to counts of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and second-degree murder, according to chief deputy prosecutor Grant DeProw.
The pair initially faced first-degree murder charges, DeProw said.
Logan, who entered his plea Monday, is set to serve 30 years as well as have a 10-year suspended sentence. Ford, who pleaded guilty Tuesday, was ordered to serve 36 years.
DeProw said Logan is expected to serve his full term while Ford will likely serve up to 25 years.
Police say Logan robbed 45-year-old Loretta “Lori” Pixler on Sept. 25, 2016, as she left the Jonesboro Dollar Tree store where she worked as an assistant store manager.
Logan then forced the Jonesboro woman into her car and made her drive away as Ford and a third suspect — 23-year-old Rodney Andra Watkins of West Memphis — followed in a second car, according to an affidavit in Craighead County District Court.
Documents show Logan forced Pixler to pull over to the shoulder of I-555 and made her get out of the vehicle before taking her purse and cellphone and fleeing the scene.
Pixler was later found dead by a motorist on the highway near the Poinsett County town of Payneway, which is about 30 miles from Jonesboro.
Watkins’ trial is set for next week in Craighead County Circuit Court, DeProw said, adding that it’s “not certain” whether he will accept a plea offer extended to him.
