Stories by Dale Ellis

Possible covid infection delays Arkansas redistricting lawsuit A preliminary injunction hearing regarding the new state House redistricting map that was scheduled to begin Thursday in federal court has been pushed back at least a week -- if not longer -- after th... January 25, 2022

Bond denied for Cross County man with Fayetteville ties facing child porn charges A Cross County man who was arrested Jan. 7 in Wynne on child pornography charges contained in an indictment from the Western District of Arkansas was denied bond this week by a federal magistrate judg... January 21, 2022

Virginia man pleads guilty to threats against authorities in Arkansas A Virginia man facing the possibility of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty Wednesday to making threats by interstate communication told a federal judge he never inte... January 20, 2022

Suit says panel snub to work polls illegal A new federal lawsuit filed by a longtime poll worker claims Pulaski County election officials refused to appoint him to work a special election in September because he opposed recently passed state v... January 19, 2022

Legal experts differ on federal judge's refusal to step away from Arkansas redistricting lawsuit A federal judge in Little Rock who denied a recusal motion earlier this month in a civil lawsuit involving his former employer is on solid legal ground for continuing to sit in on the case, according ... January 17, 2022

Guilty plea in Dallas County jail contraband case lands Jonesboro woman 3 years of probation A Craighead County woman who pleaded guilty to helping smuggle contraband into the Dallas County jail in Fordyce in 2017 was sentenced Friday to three years' probation by a federal judge for her p... January 16, 2022

Pulaski County boxer pleads not guilty to sex-trafficking counts LITTLE ROCK -- A Pulaski County man who boxes professionally under the moniker "Turbo" was arraigned Thursday on sex trafficking charges handed up by a grand jury last November that could la... January 15, 2022

Pulaski County man arraigned on federal charges involving sex trafficking minors A Pulaski County man who boxes professionally under the moniker "Turbo" was arraigned Thursday on sex trafficking charges handed up by a grand jury last November that could land him in priso... January 14, 2022

Cross County man facing child porn charges requests bail hearing A Cross County man was arraigned in federal court in Little Rock on Wednesday on multiple child pornography counts stemming from an indictment handed up by a grand jury in November in the Western Dist... January 13, 2022

Challenge to Arkansas' legislative redistricting plan to move quickly with looming filing period A federal judge on Tuesday outlined steps to streamline a lawsuit over Arkansas' new legislative districts so state officials will have time to redraw the boundaries if the map is tossed by the co... January 12, 2022

Pulaski County man facing federal drug-trafficking charges to remain locked up pending trial LITTLE ROCK -- A Pulaski County man jailed as the reputed leader of a large scale drug-trafficking operation in Central Arkansas will have to remain in jail after a motion hearing Thursday to review a... January 9, 2022

Saline County man pleads guilty to federal weapons charge linked to Win Rockefeller's son A Saline County man accused along with the son of former Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller with weapons charges related to the possession and transfer of machine guns pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to ... January 8, 2022

Judge won't remove himself from Arkansas' House redistricting case, says past GOP ties won't affect ruling A federal judge in Little Rock assigned to a lawsuit challenging the state's new House redistricting map has declined to recuse himself from the case, rejecting complaints from groups who say his ... January 7, 2022

Little Rock man to remain jailed on federal charges despite order to toss evidence A Little Rock man charged in federal court with multiple drug and firearms offenses must remain in jail to await trial despite a federal judge's order to suppress the physical evidence in his case... January 7, 2022

Pulaski County man facing federal drug-trafficking charges to remain locked up pending trial A Pulaski County man jailed as the reputed leader of a large scale drug-trafficking operation in Central Arkansas will have to remain in jail after a motion hearing Thursday to review an October deten... January 7, 2022

Heber Springs man faces federal charges in 2021 attack on U.S. Capitol A Cleburne County man is accused in a federal complaint of being part of the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, to disrupt the congressional acceptance of electoral votes in ... January 6, 2022

Eastern District judge orders court to 'press on' despite Arkansas' rising covid numbers Concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus have led the chief judge of the federal court for the Eastern District of Arkansas to issue an order requiring civil and criminal hearings that ca... January 6, 2022

Covid resurgence prompts new federal court precautions for Eastern District of Arkansas The chief judge of the federal court for the Eastern District of Arkansas has issued an order requiring civil and criminal hearings that cannot be held by telephonic or video conference to be postpone... January 5, 2022

Federal judge sets hearing in late January for lawsuit challenging state House redistricting map A federal judge in Little Rock has set a Jan. 27 hearing in a lawsuit filed last week over the state's redistricting map for the state House of Representatives but said little regarding a recusal ... January 4, 2022

District Court of the Eastern District of Arkansas adapts, rolls on During the past 21 months of the ongoing global pandemic, which has infected more than 50 million people in the U.S. and has killed more than 800,000, the District Court of the Eastern District of Ark... January 3, 2022

Little Rock Compassion Center dishes up Christmas fare, smiles As families throughout Arkansas prepared to assemble for a traditional noon Christmas dinner Saturday, another family was hard at work preparing food, gifts and Christmas cheer for Little Rock residen... December 26, 2021

Friday highway crashes kill trucker, pedestrian A St. Francis County pedestrian and a trucker were among state highway fatalities Friday, according to Arkansas State Police preliminary crash reports.At 5:46 a.m., a state trooper arrived to find a 1... December 26, 2021

POLICE BEAT: Vehicle break-in leads to 1 arrest | Little Rock man charged in drug, gun case Vehicle break-in leads to 1 arrestA Little Rock man was arrested and charged with felony breaking and entering and misdemeanor theft of property after a witness reported seeing two men break into a ne... December 26, 2021

Little Rock teen charged in federal court with machine gun possession, 4 days after double homicide A Little Rock man reportedly involved in at least two shooting incidents this year was charged in federal court with possession of a machine gun after an arrest by Bryant police looking for a vehicle ... December 24, 2021

Indiana pair plead guilty in federal court to attempted robbery of Jonesboro pharmacy LITTLE ROCK -- Two Indiana men are facing maximum sentences of 20 to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Monday in back-to-back plea hearings to charges related to the attempted robbery o... December 24, 2021

Federal jury awards woman $130,000 in discrimination lawsuit against Arkansas National Guard The Arkansas National Guard has been ordered to pay more than $130,000 to a woman after an eight-person jury found, following a five-day civil trial in federal court earlier this month, that she had s... December 23, 2021

Indiana pair plead guilty in federal court to attempted robbery of Jonesboro pharmacy Two Indiana men are facing maximum sentences of 20 to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Monday in back-to-back plea hearings to charges related to the attempted robbery of a Jonesboro p... December 21, 2021

Little Rock man pleads guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl A Little Rock man who is a defendant in one of three major fentanyl distribution cases in Central Arkansas faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine after pleading guilty Friday in federal ... December 20, 2021

Conway man who smuggled endangered amphibians, reptiles into country pleads guilty A Conway man faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty this week in federal court to importing and possessing illegally taken wildlife.Jackson Roe, 27, pleaded guilty ... December 17, 2021

Cross County man sentenced to additional time for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking A Cross County man serving time in the Arkansas Department of Corrections for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia was sentenced to 7½ years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty Thur... December 17, 2021

Little Rock man, 36, pleads guilty to distribution of child porn A Little Rock man faces at least five years in prison -- and a maximum of 20 years -- after pleading guilty in federal court to one count of distribution of child pornography.Justin Simmons, 36, enter... December 16, 2021

Rison man sentenced to 17 1/2 years on child pornography charges A Cleveland County man convicted of two counts of production of child pornography after a three-day jury trial last summer will spend the next 17½ years in federal prison after being sentenced ... December 15, 2021

Russellville man associated with New Aryan Empire sentenced to 33 years for racketeering, drug trafficking LITTLE ROCK -- A ranking member of the New Aryan Empire, a Pope County-based white supremacist group that ran a violent drug-trafficking operation, was sentenced to 33 years in prison Monday after ple... December 15, 2021

Russellville white supremacist sentenced to 33 years for racketeering, drug trafficking A ranking member of the New Aryan Empire, a Pope County-based white supremacist group that ran a violent drug-trafficking operation, was sentenced to 33 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty ne... December 14, 2021

Northeast Arkansas tornado victims recall storm's ferocity as cleanup work begins in earnest MONETTE -- "It's like a war zone. That's the only way to describe it."Those were the words Sunday of Rick Sampson, the owner of Monette Manor Nursing Home in Monette, as he surveyed ... December 13, 2021

Meth seller given 10 years in prison A Mexican citizen reputed to be a large-quantity methamphetamine distributor in Little Rock was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Friday as part of a guilty plea earlier this year to one count o... December 11, 2021

Sentence tops 18 years in gun case for Phillips County man tried as teen in guard's death A Phillips County man tried as a juvenile in 2011 in connection with the death of a Jefferson County youth detention facility guard was sentenced to a total of 18 years, 10 months in prison Thursday a... December 10, 2021

Searcy man pleads guilty in federal court Monday to producing child pornography A White County man arrested on rape and child pornography charges in 2019 pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to one count of production of child pornography and faces the possibility of spending t... December 8, 2021

Pair guilty of drug charges Two people charged with being part of a drug distribution ring broken up in 2019 by federal authorities pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, a powerful, synthe... December 5, 2021

Springdale man pleads guilty to federal counterfeiting charge A Washington County man pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to one count of manufacturing counterfeit currency.Jaycob Luke Anderson, 27, of Springdale pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Bria... December 5, 2021

Roles in drug distribution ring could bring 20-year terms, fine LITTLE ROCK -- Two people charged with being part of a drug distribution ring broken up in 2019 by federal authorities pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, a p... December 5, 2021

Pulaski County man pleads guilty in federal court to sex-trafficking of a minor A Pulaski County man accused in a federal indictment of sex trafficking of a minor pleaded guilty Thursday morning before U.S. District Judge Brian Miller.Treamill Shamon Gilliam, 23, of North Little ... December 3, 2021

Indian national sentenced to 30 months for sending over 2,500 harrassing emails An Indian national indicted for stalking by a federal grand jury was sentenced to 30 months in prison at a sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge James M. Moody on Thursday and faces immediate ... December 3, 2021

Former Malvern school counselor pleads guilty to federal child pornography charge A former high school counselor pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to one count of attempted production of child pornography, which could land him in prison for as long as 30 years.Jonathan Will... December 2, 2021

Searcy County man sentenced to 5 years in prison on federal drug conspiracy charge A Searcy County man who pleaded guilty last June to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr.Kenne... December 2, 2021

Sex trafficking suspect placed on home detention by federal court, ordered to wear monitor A Pulaski County man, accused with five other people -- including his twin sister -- of participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy, was allowed to post bail and go free while he awaits trial.Reggie... December 1, 2021

Salvation Army kettle campaign to be out in force in Arkansas, aiming for $300,000 fund-raising goal As the global coronavirus pandemic enters a second holiday season, charities like the Salvation Army are hoping to blunt the pandemic's impact on donations.On Wednesday, Maj. Bill Mockabee, Salvat... November 26, 2021

Defense contends Satanic Temple not turning over documents in Ten Commandments lawsuit As a federal lawsuit filed over a Ten Commandments monument placed on the grounds of the state Capitol passed the halfway point through its fourth year, attorneys continued to wrangle over discovery i... November 24, 2021

Guilty plea in child porn case results in 73-month sentence for Jacksonville man A Pulaski County man who pleaded guilty in federal court last March to one count of receipt of child pornography was sentenced Thursday to six years, one month in federal prison.Terry Lee Good, 50, of... November 21, 2021

Federal grants to Helena-West Helena, Hot Springs will fund 15 additional police officers Two cities in Arkansas will receive over $1.6 million in federal funding from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, an arm of the Department of Justice, for the COPS Hiring Program.On Th... November 21, 2021