BENTONVILLE -- A jury spared a woman who killed a Pea Ridge police officer from a death sentence on Tuesday, recommending instead that she be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The jury of seven women and five men last week found Shawna Cash guilty of capital murder in the death of officer Kevin Apple.
It also found her guilty of fleeing, two counts of aggravated assault and obstruction of governmental operations.
The panel deliberated for almost three hours Tuesday before returning with the sentencing recommendations.
Cash stood with her attorneys as Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren read the jury's recommendations in a quiet courtroom.
Cash did not show any physical reaction.
Apple's family members, friends and a few police officers sat on one side of the courtroom.
Cash's brother and sister, who testified at the trial, were not present.
The jury recommended the life sentence without the benefit of parole for capital murder, 10 years and a $10,000 fine for fleeing, and 6 years and $10,000 for each of the aggravated assault convictions. The panel recommended one year in jail for the misdemeanor obstruction charge.
Karren followed the recommendations and sentenced Cash to life imprisonment, along with the other recommended sentences. He ordered the sentences to be served consecutively.
He sentenced Cash to 26 years in prison for two probation revocations while the jury was deliberating.
The judge ordered Cash not to have any contact with Apple's family members.
Cash declined the opportunity to make any statements, and she was handcuffed and led from the courtroom to be transported back to the Benton County jail by sheriff's deputies.
Katherine Streett, one of Cash's attorneys, declined to comment when she was leaving and outside the courtroom.
Pea Ridge Police Chief Lynn Hahn attended most or all of Cash's hearing. He also attended all of the trial. He said it was difficult to sit through the trial, especially the portion where prosecutors played a recording where someone was mocking Apple's death and Cash was laughing in response.
Hahn said he was on the June 2021 scene minutes after Cash ran over Apple. Hahn said he saw Apple at the scene, but he had not seen the autopsy photographs, and it was tough seeing them.
"After watching the videos of him being murdered and listening to some of the lack of remorse in Cash," Hahn said, "I prayed that the jury would come out with the right outcome."
Hahn said the sentence was three years in the making.
"I think the jury did their job very well," Hahn said. "It was a tough, tough job, and they made a decision based on the facts that they had. So I'm happy that Shawna Cash will pay the price by spending the rest of her life in prison."
Hahn said he, other Pea Ridge officers and Apple's family are grateful for the support they have received from the community.
Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson said he felt honored and grateful to have been able to be involved in the case and seek justice for Apple.
Robinson said he's grateful to the jury for their diligence and attention throughout a long and difficult trial. Robinson said the jury took its responsibility seriously and thoughtfully and weighed all the evidence presented.
He said he was taken aback by the swift and certain response of so many civilians from the community that ran to Apple and chased after Cash immediately after she killed Apple.
"The murder of a police officer is not only an attack on an individual, it is an attack on our community and on law and order," Robinson said. "Officer Kevin Apple will continue to be grieved and missed by our entire community."
Apple and Brian Stamps, then a Pea Ridge police officer, heard a dispatch about 11:30 a.m. June 26, 2021, to be on the lookout for a Jeep fleeing from Rogers police. They spotted the Jeep at the White Oak Station in Pea Ridge, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Stamps stopped his patrol vehicle behind the Jeep, and Apple stopped his car in front of the Jeep.
Cash hit Stamps' vehicle, then sped forward and hit Apple, who got caught under the vehicle. Stamps testified he fired four shots at the Jeep after seeing Apple underneath it.
Cash was later apprehended by a Bella Vista police officer after she crashed the Jeep and fled into the woods.
Streett pleaded with jurors in her closing statements to have mercy on her client and spare her life.
The jury was presented with testimony and evidence of Cash's troubled childhood involving neglect and physical and sexual abuse, along with a nomadic lifestyle. She moved 35 times in her childhood.
"You may not have compassion for Shawna," Streett said, pointing at her. "But have compassion for that little girl."
She displayed a second childhood photo of Cash and asked for compassion from the jury. "That's who Shawna is," Streett said.
Robinson urged the jury to recommend the death penalty. He told the jurors Cash did not show any mercy for Apple when she hit him and dragged his body 149 feet across a parking lot and over a curb.
Robinson told jurors Apple was fighting for his life as he was dragged.
"She doesn't care about him," Robinson said. "He's a speed bump in her life."