A Pulaski County circuit judge on Wednesday cut the $1 million bail in half for a Little Rock man accused of gunning down an acquaintance who had humiliated him in a fistfight.
The man's lawyer had complained that his client had been jailed for nearly two years and risked contracting the coronavirus if he stays locked up.
The $500,000 bail set by Judge Cathi Compton is still five times higher than the $100,000 attorney Bill James had requested for Derrick Dewayne Green, 28. Green has never been in serious trouble with the law before, James said.
If released, Green would go back to work as a welder and continue living with the aunt and uncle, Myrtle and Curtis Pettis, who raised him since infancy, the attorney said. The accusations against Green are an aberration resulting from the "heat of passion," James said, telling the judge that Green has a history of being the target of bullies.
Charged with capital murder, Green is presenting an insanity defense to the August 2019 slaying of Cameron Ray Pearson, 20, in front of a friend's home at 1910 S. Pulaski St.
State doctors who have examined Green deemed him competent to stand trial, but Green is disputing those findings, with a hearing scheduled for June. The final determination on whether Green is fit for trial is up to the judge. Green, arrested about 12 hours after Pearson was killed, remained jailed Thursday.
At Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors objected to reducing bail, arguing that Green is an "extremely dangerous" flight risk with a "volatile temper" who is a danger to the public. Green has a lot to lose since he's confessed to killing Pearson and now faces a life sentence if convicted, senior deputy prosecutor Barbara Mariani told the judge.
"He hunted the victim down and shot him," Mariani said, describing Pearson's death as "horrific and extremely violent."
Further evidence includes witnesses who saw him at the scene and tracking data from his cellphone that shows he was in the area when Pearson was killed, Mariani said. The gun believed to be used in the killing was found in Green's car when he was arrested, she said.
A dispute over a cellphone led to the fight between Pearson and Green, she told the judge. Green had given Pearson a ride home the day before, and Pearson had left his phone in Green's car. Pearson wanted the phone back immediately, but Green was not able to return it until the next day, which led to the fight, started by Pearson.
The fight was witnessed by friends and relatives, with Green suffering a black eye. Pearson offered to shake hands with Green but the man refused, the prosecutor said.
An enraged Green next called his uncle to complain about what had happened, and his uncle was so worried about how mad Green was that Curtis Pettis, 73, went looking for the younger man's gun, an AR-15 assault rifle, the prosecutor told the judge.
Green had pawned the weapon but left the Pulaski Street residence and reclaimed the rifle, went home and loaded it, Mariani said.
His aunt, testifying Wednesday, told the judge that she advised Green to calm down and drop the matter. Myrtle Pettis said Green then went into his bedroom and lay down so she thought he'd taken her advice.
Myrtle Pettis, 74, told the judge she went to sleep but was awakened by the garage door opening. She said she went outside and saw Green driving away, describing how she yelled at him to come back. Myrtle Pettis said she tried to call and text Green but got no response.
Green drove back and parked on the street behind the Pulaski Street home, sneaked around the residence and ambushed Pearson on the front porch, firing his rifle three times, Mariani told the judge. Pearson was hit twice in the back, with the bullets passing through his body and at least one penetrating the house, the prosecutor said.
Police attention turned to Green because a mutual friend of the men had seen him parked behind the home, Mariani told the judge. Detectives were searching the Pettis home when Green drove up and was arrested. The AR-15 and a pawn ticket were found in the vehicle.
Green did not testify but interrupted Mariani's description of the evidence at one point to say, "the guy had a gun" before he was hushed by his attorney. The judge reminded Green that anything he said in court could be used against him at trial.