A 2013 road-rage incident that led to the death of one driver — and three consecutive trials for the man who shot him — is again set to be re-litigated after the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday tossed the case back to circuit court.
In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that jurors in Chris Schnarr’s third trial, where he was convicted of manslaughter, were improperly barred from hearing instructions regarding Schnarr’s arguments that he was justified in shooting Arista Lee “A.J.” Aldridge Jr. during a confrontation in downtown Little Rock.
According to newspaper reports and court records, Adlridge failed to yield to Schnarr’s vehicle exiting off of Interstate 30 in May 2013.
The two men exchanged words while driving side-by-side, and Aldridge then stopped in front of Schnarr’s vehicle, got out and approached Schnarr. Schnarr, a concealed-carry permit holder, testified that he raised his handgun at Schnarr and told him to leave, and fired three shots when Aldridge continued to walk toward him.
Schnarr was originally charged with first-degree murder, but that trial ended in a mistrial. His second trial resulted in a manslaughter conviction that was overturned by the Supreme Court in early 2017 because the justices determined the trial had not been public.
Scharr was tried and convicted a second time for manslaughter in November 2017, and given a three-year prison sentence. That conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Jegley, in a phone call Thursday, said his office would likely decide next week whether to pursue another trial in the case.