Cathy Frye
Stories by Cathy
Dearth of funds hinders justice
posted: 05/20/2012 5:28 a.m. Discuss
A new judge, a criminal case coordinator or more staff would help clear up a clogged court docket in Phillips County, but each of those remedies faces a big obstacle — a lack of money, say county and court officials.
Some fugitives get free pass
posted: 05/13/2012 4:54 a.m. Discuss
First in a series. A Phillips County sheriff’s entrenched practice of not filing certain warrants in state and national crime databases allows fugitives in this historic city to live with little fear of getting caught.
Catholic grade school to close
posted: 05/05/2012 3:17 a.m. Comment 1
St. Peter Catholic School, one of the oldest Catholic schools in the state, will close at the end of the school year, the Rev. Anil Thomas announced Friday.
Drug dealer fell through court cracks
posted: 04/18/2012 5:23 a.m.
Comments 2
For nearly two years, Sedrick “Binky” Trice ran a thriving, multistate drug operation from an auto shop right off U.S. 49, just across from Eliza Miller Junior High School.
Beliefs of victim help killer get life
posted: 04/14/2012 3:26 a.m. Comment 1
It took jurors only two hours to decide that Lillian Wilson — bludgeoned to death two years ago in her hometown church — wouldn’t have wanted her killer sentenced to death.
Drifter guilty of murder in church beating death
posted: 04/13/2012 3:42 a.m. Discuss
Throughout Rene Bourassa’s capital-murder trial, the gleaming brass cross he used to kill Lillian Wilson, 80, stood on a courtroom table — a mute testament to joyful memories of a country church and to an elderly woman’s ugly death.
Killer awry mentally, two testify
posted: 04/12/2012 5:12 a.m. Discuss
Capital murder defendant Rene Bourassa suffers from two mental conditions that possibly impaired his ability to think or behave rationally on the day he killed an elderly woman at her church, two defense witnesses testified Wednesday.
Trial video shows killer mimic attack
posted: 04/11/2012 5:24 a.m. Discuss
After authorities returned capital murder defendant Rene Bourassa to Arkansas, he agreed to re-enact the murder of Lillian Wilson, 80, at the church where the attack took place.
Guilt not in doubt, all in murder trial agree
posted: 04/10/2012 4:30 a.m. Comment 1
For a week, Rene Bourassa Jr. camped out undetected in a small, country church in Cross County after his car broke down during a road trip from Alabama to Kansas.
Church murder trial set to begin
posted: 04/01/2012 3:52 a.m. Discuss
The capital-murder trial of a man accused of beating an elderly woman to death with a brass cross in her small-town church begins Monday.
Traskwood confession holds 2 sides of suspect
posted: 03/31/2012 3:50 a.m. Discuss
Two portraits of capital-murder defendant Marissa Wright emerged Friday in an audio recording of her confession to killing two men buried in her backyard.
Search revives 18-year mystery
posted: 03/30/2012 3:26 a.m.
Discuss
Nearly 18 years ago, Cleashindra Hall vanished from a home at 5309 Faucett Road in Pine Bluff.
Slaying suspect chatty, officers testify
posted: 03/29/2012 4:19 a.m. Discuss
Capital-murder defendant Marissa Wright showed a fondness for dropping coy hints, blurting out confessions and bantering with law enforcement officers — from detectives to a jailer to a transport officer — witnesses testified Wednesday in a pre-trial hearing.
Doctors: Suspect in 2 murders competent
posted: 03/28/2012 4:07 a.m. Discuss
Marissa Wright, who faces two counts of capital murder in the slayings of two men found buried in her backyard, is mentally competent to stand trial, two psychologists agreed Tuesday.
3 teens to face adult charges
posted: 03/17/2012 5:19 a.m. Comment 1
Three teenagers accused of stabbing a 77-year old good Samaritan who stopped to help when they ran out of gas were certified as adults and charged with attempted murder, aggravated robbery and theft of a vehicle, Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober said Friday.
Bales give $1 million to hospital
posted: 03/14/2012 4:07 a.m. Discuss
John and Sharon Bale, who own Bale Automotive Group, announced Tuesday that they are donating $1 million to the fetal-heart program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
Widowed by flood at camp, man sues
posted: 03/09/2012 5:28 a.m. Discuss
Another family has filed a wrongful-death claim against the U.S. Forest Service, alleging that it was negligent when it created a camping area at the Albert Pike Recreation Area and that the agency’s employees failed to warn and protect campers when the Little Missouri River flooded in June 2010.
Fuel group gives to college program
posted: 02/23/2012 4:48 a.m. Discuss
The Fayetteville Shale Scholarship Fund donated $130,000 on Monday to the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton.
Man admits chaining wandering child to bed
posted: 02/22/2012 5:44 a.m. Discuss
A stepfather at wit’s end with his 11-year-old stepdaughter’s nighttime wandering admits that he resorted to chaining her to her bed each night for five weeks, Sharp County sheriff’s officials say.
21 pooches sprung from pokey
posted: 02/10/2012 4:30 a.m. Comments 2
Surrounded by prison inmates and barking dogs, Savannah Hickman, 13, dropped to her knees and embraced her new pet — a chocolate Labrador named Buckshot who has spent the past two months training with inmates at the Arkansas Department of Correction’s Maximum Security Unit.
Director finds right match with retailer
posted: 02/07/2012 4:44 a.m. Discuss
As a longtime community volunteer and 2007 graduate of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Julie Gehrki never imagined herself working for a corporation.
Four face charges in frantic shootout
posted: 02/04/2012 4:32 a.m.
Discuss
Four men accused in a shootout have been arrested and face an array of charges.
Executive’s body not found in dig
posted: 01/31/2012 4:53 a.m. Discuss
A dig using archeological equipment failed to uncover the body of John Glasgow in spite of a jail inmate’s claims that he helped bury the missing Little Rock executive in Lonoke County.
Rule-of-law envoy details Afghan task
posted: 01/28/2012 4:20 a.m. Discuss
The United States’ efforts to bring law and order to Afghanistan are vital in creating an environment that prevents the Taliban from cultivating a deeper foothold in the long-turbulent county, said Hans Klemm, appointed 18 months ago as the first coordinating director of rule of law and law enforcement.
Dog finds human leg bone; police stumped on source
posted: 01/28/2012 4:09 a.m. Discuss
On Monday, a Clinton resident turned his dog out for a little exercise.
College’s ex-chief to leave job
posted: 01/25/2012 5:28 a.m. Discuss
Trudie Kibbe Reed, a former president of Philander Smith College, is retiring as president of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Prison guard stabbed over shoes
posted: 01/21/2012 4:27 a.m. Comments 2
Sgt. Barbara Ester, a longtime correctional officer at the East Arkansas Regional Unit, staggered into the prison infirmary Friday afternoon, bleeding from the abdomen.
Proposal to affect 29 state parks
posted: 01/19/2012 4:14 a.m. Comments 3
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Little Rock District announced Wednesday a proposal to close 13 campgrounds, four partial campgrounds, four day-use areas, one partial day-use area and 10 boat ramps to tighten its budget.
Prosecutor: Man spins good tale
posted: 01/13/2012 4:40 a.m. Discuss
A felon who claims to know what happened to John Glasgow — a Little Rock executive who disappeared four years ago — spins a good story but shouldn’t be assumed to be credible, especially given an impending sentencing hearing that could net him a lengthy prison term, Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland of the 20th Judicial District said Thursday.
Flood survivors’ kin in court
posted: 01/05/2012 5:15 a.m. Discuss
The families of two boys who survived a deadly flood at the Albert Pike Recreation Area in June 2010 have filed a federal tort claim against the U.S. Forest Service — which operates the recreation area — and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
After shot kills husband, injures her, woman jailed
posted: 12/31/2011 5:17 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas State Police continued Friday to investigate a husband-wife shooting that occurred Thursday near Bismarck.
A NEW RIDE FOR CHRISTMAS: Girl, nearly 4, gets her prison horse
posted: 12/25/2011 1:31 a.m. Discuss
For Christmas this year, Allie Hobby, who turns 4 in February, wanted her own horse — one that she could ride in local rodeos.
Sheds theft case leads to arrest
posted: 12/23/2011 4:53 a.m. Discuss
A Lonoke County man arrested Wednesday stands accused of conning 26 people into paying him thousands of dollars for the construction of sheds that were never built, authorities said Thursday.
New rules coming to Greek life at UCA
posted: 12/20/2011 6:16 a.m. Discuss
Beginning in the 2012 spring semester, the University of Central Arkansas’ fraternities and sororities face new, more-stringent rules when hosting or attending off-campus social events.
Inmates, pups pair up in lockup
posted: 12/09/2011 4:27 a.m. Comments 6
A hush of anticipation settled over the gym at the Arkansas Department of Correction’s Tucker Unit on Thursday as dozens of inmates gathered for a drawing that would pair them with dogs rescued from Arkansas animal shelters.
Arkadelphia eatery gives disabled staff a recipe for living
posted: 11/25/2011 5:12 a.m. Discuss
As usual, the Honeycomb Restaurant and Bakery hummed with activity and conversation during a recent Friday lunch hour.
June ’10 flood a rare event, report states
posted: 11/03/2011 3:34 a.m. Discuss
The June 2010 flood that killed 20 people camping along the Little Missouri River was an extreme localized weather event that has less than a 1 percent chance of occurring during any given year, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Testimony in drug case leads judge to deny bail
posted: 10/27/2011 5:37 a.m. Discuss
A detention hearing for a defendant in a federal public corruption and drug-trafficking case included testimony Wednesday about illegal gambling machines at a business tied to the charges.
FBI agent: Auto shop a front for drug ring
posted: 10/22/2011 4:39 a.m. Discuss
AC Customs — a Helena-West Helena shop purporting to do custom-auto painting — was a bustling business, but little of its success had anything to do with cars, an FBI agent testified in federal court in Little Rock on Friday.
Officer jailed in drug case loses bail bid
posted: 10/21/2011 5:09 a.m. Comment 1
Despite fervent testimony from a fiancee, a pastor and an employer, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled Thursday that Helena-West Helena police officer Herman Eaton, 46, will remain jailed until his drug-trafficking and public-corruption trial.
2 officers in drug case deemed a danger, held
posted: 10/15/2011 5:13 a.m.
Discuss
Shortly after being arrested on drug-trafficking charges Tuesday, a Helena-West Helena police officer told authorities he had information that could implicate a mayor, a judge and an assistant chief of police, an FBI agent testified Friday.
After arrests, city quiet
posted: 10/13/2011 5:57 a.m. Comments 2
For 10 years, residents of this Delta town have watched their neighborhoods decay.
VIDEO: Drug raid in Delta nabs 51
posted: 10/12/2011 2:28 a.m. Comments 12
In the hours just before dawn Tuesday, more than 700 law enforcement officers descended on several small Delta towns, where they arrested 51 people — including four police officers and one former sheriff’s deputy — in a drug-trafficking investigation dubbed Operation Delta Blues. Federal agents and the Arkansas State Police continued to search Tuesday afternoon for an additional 14 people who authorities said participated in a far-reaching scheme that spanned three states and involved large quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs.
Plea deal gets man life term in Horatio killing
posted: 10/08/2011 4:48 a.m. Discuss
Cody Shane Griffin, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday to abducting and killing a young mother in September while robbing the Horatio store where she worked.
Judge lifts Dirksmeyer silence order
posted: 10/04/2011 5:27 a.m. Discuss
Circuit Judge Bill Pearson lifted a gag order on Monday that for years had prevented witnesses, family members and attorneys from talking publicly about former capital murder defendant Gary Dunn’s two murder trials, both of which ended with hung juries.
4 state mail centers on closure study list
posted: 09/16/2011 6:05 a.m. Comments 17
The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday a plan to cut its expenses by consolidating or closing mail processing facilities and extending delivery time for First-Class mail.
Senator to head promise effort
posted: 09/15/2011 4:37 a.m. Discuss
State Sen. Joyce Elliott will be the executive director of the Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood, a community effort to nurture and educate children living in a specific low-income area of Little Rock.
Truck strikes police office; driver killed
posted: 09/14/2011 3:28 a.m. Discuss
The 10-man Walnut Ridge Police Department had just largely emptied for a noon hour lunch break when a Toyota pickup crashed through the front office’s large window and brick wall Tuesday, killing the driver and severely injuring the city’s code enforcement/animal control officer.
‘Closest thing to hell ...’
posted: 09/12/2011 5:05 a.m. Discuss
Trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center’s south tower, firefighter Jim Thompson scribbled a note to his wife and mother on a crumpled piece of paper: If you get this letter, know that I love you. Let Kevin know who I am.
10 years to forgiveness
posted: 09/11/2011 5:44 a.m. Discuss
A year after the terrorists’ attack on the World Trade Center, the Rev. Lyndon Harris’ robe hung heavy upon his shoulders.
