CONWAY -- A judge on Wednesday found the younger of two teenagers accused of murdering a Wooster woman mentally fit to stand trial.
The Arkansas State Hospital had conducted a mental-health evaluation of Robert Smith III, 17, of Pine Bluff and concluded that he was fit.
Judge Troy Braswell ruled during a brief hearing in Faulkner County Circuit Court after defense attorney Garfield Bloodman said he did not plan to challenge the finding.
Smith and his cousin -- Tacori Mackrell, 19, of Pine Bluff -- are charged with capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and theft of property in the July slaying of Elvia Fragstein, 72, who died from strangulation and blunt-force trauma.
The defense has not made another common request -- that the State Hospital also evaluate Smith to determine if he was mentally responsible at the time of the crime. "I don't think that will be an issue," Bloodman said after the hearing.
Mackrell's attorney, Bill James, has asked that Mackrell be evaluated for both matters. The results of those findings likely will be disclosed publicly during Mackrell's next pretrial hearing on May 21, if not sooner.
The mental-health reports in both cases are sealed, according to the circuit clerk's office.
Smith was 16 at the time of the crime in July 2018 but was charged as an adult.
Bloodman filed a motion Tuesday asking Braswell to dismiss Smith's case or, in the alternative, to transfer it to juvenile court.
Prosecuting Attorney Carol Crews said the state would oppose the motion.
In that request, Bloodman challenged the constitutionality of the state statute that allows a prosecutor to charge a juvenile in either the juvenile or criminal division of circuit court if the juvenile is at least 16 at the time of the crime and if that crime would be a felony if an adult committed it.
"This section of the statute is unconstitutional because it permits the prosecutor to select the court to file charges and thereby shift the burden to prove the need for a transfer to the juvenile [court] which is what has occurred in this case," Bloodman wrote.
"Additionally, the statute is unconstitutional because it permits unequal treatment of similar cases by the prosecutor by allowing the prosecutor to select where the juvenile is to be filed based on only subjective decision," Bloodman added.
Smith turned 17 in February. "Therefore, the juvenile court will be better suited to provide the Defendant with any rehabilitation necessary," Bloodman wrote.
Braswell set aside up to three days starting June 12 for a hearing on the motion.
If convicted as an adult, Smith could face up to life in prison without parole. Because he was 16 at the time of the crime, he could not face the death penalty.
Crews has not said if she plans to seek the death penalty in Mackrell's case.
State Desk on 04/04/2019