A North Little Rock man whose manslaughter convictions have been overturned twice on appeal has been sentenced to time served after pleading no contest to the charge.
Sentencing papers filed Thursday by deputy prosecutor Kelly Ward show Chris Aaron Schnarr, 34, pleaded contest to the Class C felony in exchange for seven months in prison to be followed by a 30-month suspended sentence.
The plea agreement, negotiated by defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, gets Schnarr out of prison and keeps him from having to stand trial a fourth time for killing 45-year-old Arista Lee "AJ" Aldridge Jr. in May 2013 in downtown Little Rock during a road-rage confrontation initiated by the older man.
Schnarr was initially charged with first-degree murder. His first trial, in September 2014, ended with a hung jury. The jury in his second trial in September 2015 rejected the murder charge in favor of the manslaughter conviction, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum penalty.
But the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new trial in January 2017 with a finding that Schnarr's constitutional right to a public trial was violated because his family was not allowed into the courtroom while the jurors were being selected for trial.
He was convicted again of manslaughter at his third trial in November 2017. The high court overturned that verdict in November on a 4-3 decision, ruling that Schnarr was wrongly prevented from arguing he acted in self-defense.
The deadly encounter between the men came after their vehicles nearly collided at Interstate 30 and Sixth Street.
They exchanged profanities, but kept driving. Aldridge cut Schnarr off, stopping his SUV in the middle of Sixth Street to get out and confront Schnarr, who had also stopped in the road. Schnarr, who had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, testified that he pulled his gun when Aldridge leaned onto his car. He said Aldridge took a few steps back then stepped toward him again, so he opened fire.
Aldridge was struck twice. A bullet went through his left shoulder while the fatal shot went through his abdomen and severed his aorta, the largest artery in the human body.
Prosecutors, citing the testimony of a bus driver who saw the shooting, said Schnarr opened fire while Aldridge was facing away from him. They acknowledged that Aldridge was the initial aggressor, but said that Schnarr, the only one with a gun, drew out the confrontation and had plenty of time and opportunities to get away from the older man.
Metro on 05/25/2019
CORRECTION: Chris Aaron Schnarr pleaded no contest to manslaughter for the May 2013 slaying of 45-year-old Arista Lee “AJ” Aldridge Jr. during a road-rage confrontation. He was sentenced to time served, seven months in prison, with an additional 30 months suspended. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prove their case. Scharr’s plea, which came after his two prior manslaughter convictions were overturned on appeal, was incorrectly described in an earlier version of this story.