The 35-year-old Little Rock man killed Sunday night at the Capitol Hill Apartments was a key prosecution witness in the felony theft case against his brother-in-law, who had been scheduled to stand trial Wednesday, court filings show.
Varn Eugene Brown Jr. was found fatally wounded in the 156-unit apartment complex at 15501 Capitol Hill Blvd., north of Cooper Orbit Road, by police responding to calls about gunfire in the neighborhood.
He was a visitor at the 9.8-acre property, according to a police report. Detectives seized his car and a car belonging to a tenant, Antwan Spreads, but have released no other information about the slaying.
Brown was a key witness in the residential burglary case against 24-year-old Riley Dobie Noel, who is charged with breaking into the Brown home at Calais Forest apartments at 500 Napa Valley Drive, and stealing guns and jewelry from Brown and his wife, Staneka Brown, deputy prosecutor Jennings Morgan stated in a motion filed Monday seeking to delay Noel's trial. The couple celebrated their second anniversary in November.
The newly widowed Brown, 28, is too distraught to go to the trial, Morgan reported to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson, who rescheduled the proceeding for March.
Noel is accused of the New Year's Day 2019 break-in at the Brown home where someone had kicked in the front door and stolen two handguns, along with Varn Brown's watches and jewelry.
According to an arrest affidavit, Noel's wife, who is Staneka Brown's sister, told Staneka Brown that Noel was responsible for the theft. Police officer Chris Alsbrook listened in on a speaker-phone conversation between Staneka Brown and Noel, and reported hearing Noel admit that he broke into the apartment because Staneka Brown and her sister had been feuding that day.
Noel later denied taking anything from the apartment but said he was going to the Brown residence to "settle up" for being accused, according to reports.
The day after the break-in, the Browns told detective Kenneth Baer, that Noel's wife, 24-year-old Rodrica Noel, had returned the guns, the affidavit states.
Riley Noel was arrested two weeks later and is free on bond. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Metro on 01/09/2020