BENTONVILLE -- Michael Doll was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday, but an angry Doll refused to enter the courtroom for the sentencing and stayed in a holding cell.
Doll, 54, of Jasper, Mo., demanded to leave the courtroom. He was upset and said that Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor, lied about Doll's military record. Doll unleashed a barrage of profane comments against Cearley.
"I can't stand to see him dance around with that stupid smirk on his face," Doll said about Cearley. "Put Stu back to work as a prosecutor."
A jury found Doll guilty of attempted capital murder, aggravated residential burglary and battery.
He was charged in the attempted murder of his former wife, Brenda, on June 7, 2016, at her Bella Vista home at 39 Applecross Lane. They exchanged gunfire, and Brenda Doll was grazed in the chest area by one of the gunshots.
Michael Doll's outburst Thursday occurred after the verdicts were announced. Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green had already sent jurors out of the courtroom.
Green attempted to persuade Michael Doll to remain in the courtroom, and she repeatedly warned him about using profanity. Green told Doll that he faced two life sentences and that it was in his best interest to be in the courtroom for sentencing.
Cearley was the main target of Doll's ire, but he also hurled insults at his former wife. He called her an idiot and said he was facing life in prison for defending himself against her.
"Take me to the Benton County prison where you have held me for 2½ years making money off of me," Doll said.
He said it did not matter if he was in the courtroom because he was going to get a life sentence because that's what Cearley wanted.
"He runs this courtroom," Doll said of Cearley.
"No," Green replied. "I run this courtroom."
Doll said he did not know if he could control himself if he had to stay and watch Cearley.
Green allowed Doll to be taken from the courtroom and be put in a holding cell while the sentencing phase took place.
Prosecutors did not call any witnesses, but they played recordings of telephone calls Doll made from the jail. Doll told one person in a recorded call that he made a mistake by not shooting his former wife between the eyes. In another call, he told someone he should have "blew her brains all over the living room."
Defense attorney Kevin Lammers presented testimony from Doll's sisters, who said the family continues to support him. They testified that Doll was involved in a car crash in 2015 and suffered a traumatic brain injury, and his granddaughter was killed in the crash. The sisters said their brother's personality changed because of the brain injury and the loss of his grandchild.
The jury reached its verdict on the sentencing after more than an hour of deliberations.
Lammers told the judge that Doll was exercising his rights and did not want to return to the courtroom.
"I am concerned about the officers' safety if they try to bring him back to the courtroom," Lammers said.
The judge had Lammers and bailiff Nathan Atchison go back to the holding cell and speak with Doll. They later returned to the courtroom to say that Doll did not want to be present for the sentencing.
The jury recommended that Doll serve 40 years for the attempted murder; 40 years for the aggravated residential burglary and 20 years for the battery. The panel recommended that each sentence be served consecutively.
The judge followed the jury recommendation and sentenced Doll to 100 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. Doll will have to serve at least 25 years before he is eligible for parole.
The judge also ordered Doll not to have any contact with his former wife.
Brenda Doll testified during the trial that she fired five times after Michael Doll threw a large rock and shattered the glass in her front door, then entered her home.
Michael Doll testified in his defense and was adamant that he shot his gun only after his former wife had shot at him three times. Doll said he was defending himself and did not intentionally try to kill her.
There had been no behavior issues with Doll during the trial until the jury left the courtroom to begin deliberations on his innocence or guilt.
Doll immediately jumped out of his seat when the jury left the room and loudly said, "Stuart." Green interrupted Doll and told him to sit down. She then left the courtroom.
Doll then began to curse at Cearley, saying that the prosecutor lied to the jury about his military record.
When Green returned to the courtroom, Jeff Robbins, the investigator for the Benton County prosecuting attorney's office, told her that Doll had cursed several times at Cearley.
Green said that because of his behavior in the courtroom, she was considering having Doll shackled for the rest of the proceedings.
At one point, when Doll told Green that he wanted to say something about Cearley lying to the jury, the judge told him that if he did another thing she would have him shackled.
Green reminded Doll that he was wearing a shock belt and that it was to the deputies' credit that they did not use it.
"I am grateful that the jury gave the defendant 100 years for his very serious crime," Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith said.
State Desk on 11/02/2018