Stories by John Lynch

North Little Rock man is sentenced to 40 years in prison for homicide A 29-year-old North Little Rock man has accepted a 40-year prison sentence for killing a man and threatening his girlfriend with a gun in separate incidents.Ever Saul Rodas-Urbina pleaded guilty befor... November 15, 2022

North Little Rock man pleads to first-degree murder charge in stabbing of Kroger employee NORTH LITTLE ROCK -- A 20-year-old North Little Rock man who fatally stabbed a supermarket customer in front of the store last year has accepted a 50-year prison sentence for the unprovoked attack.Sen... November 13, 2022

Little Rock man wanted after assault arrests violate bond terms A 37-year-old Little Rock man accused of firing a gun from a moving car on a residential street was a wanted man on Friday after prosecutors reported police had charged him with assaulting his girlfri... November 12, 2022

North Little Rock man pleads to first-degree murder charge in stabbing of Kroger employee A 20-year-old North Little Rock man who fatally stabbed a supermarket customer in front of the store last year has accepted a 50-year prison sentence for the unprovoked attack.Sentencing papers filed ... November 12, 2022

Attorney sues firm over pot licensing A legal malpractice lawsuit involving medical marijuana licensing pits a Forrest City attorney against his own firm and partners.Marshall Wright and a business partner in a medical marijuana dispensar... November 11, 2022

Little Rock spree shooter’s attorney plans insanity defense in murder case Lawyers for a 31-year-old Little Rock parolee accused of shooting two people, killing one, in southwest Little Rock during an August shooting rampage across town are exploring a potential insanity def... November 10, 2022

Saline County judge orders arrest of Mountain View man over threats, harassing communications A 49-year-old Mountain View man facing misdemeanor harassment and felony threatening charges in two counties was the subject of a manhunt Monday after a Saline County circuit judge reported receiving ... November 8, 2022

Judge: Arkansas marijuana regulators broke their own rules in granting final cultivation license Arkansas medical marijuana regulators broke their own rules and made up new ones -- violating the state constitution -- to give a cultivation license to an obviously unqualified candidate, Pulaski Cou... November 5, 2022

Little Rock mother pleads guilty to brandishing a gun at an elementary school A 26-year-old Little Rock mother who brandished a gun at a father and son in front of an elementary school was sentenced Tuesday to three months in jail after pleading guilty to three felony charges, ... November 3, 2022

Little Rock man sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to robbery, battery and sex offender registry violation A sex offender who shot a Church's Chicken employee while robbing the Little Rock restaurant has accepted a 25-year prison sentence for the November 2019 holdup and unrelated offenses.Sentencing p... November 3, 2022

Arkansas medical marijuana regulators file arguments against cultivation license lawsuit State medical marijuana regulators accused in a lawsuit of improperly awarding the last of Arkansas' eight cultivation licenses might have their differences about how to proceed with the litigatio... November 3, 2022

Pulaski County judge to rule on revoking Fort Smith medical marijuana grower’s license by week’s end Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright said he expects to decide by the end of the week whether to strip a Fort Smith medical marijuana grower of its cultivation license, the final one to be awarded... November 2, 2022

Court expedites firm’s marijuana license suit Litigation to strip a Fort Smith medical marijuana cultivation facility of its grower's license is on the fast track to be decided by a Pulaski County Circuit judge amid accusations that state reg... October 31, 2022

Illegally denied record requests, Little Rock says in court Little Rock illegally withheld public records, many of them involving Mayor Frank Scott Jr.'s failed LITFest project, from crusading attorney Matt Campbell, the Blue Hog Report blogger, city lawye... October 26, 2022

Little Rock admits to illegally withholding public records from blogger Little Rock illegally withheld public records, many of them involving the city’s failed LITFest project, from attorney Matt Campbell, the Blue Hog Report blogger, city lawyers admitted in open c... October 25, 2022

Little Rock man accused of trying to have yoga instructor maimed is committed to state hospital A 68-year-old Little Rock man accused of trying to hire a hitman to maim a yoga instructor who found him to be "creepy" and frightening was committed indefinitely to the Arkansas State Hospi... October 22, 2022

Barred from proceeding with concealed-carry lawsuit against city, lawyer tries to take gun into city hall again Minutes after a Pulaski County Circuit judge ruled Thursday that lawyer Chris Corbitt had dropped his lawsuit, perhaps unintentionally, against the City of Little Rock, Corbitt re-enacted his encounte... October 21, 2022

Getting it straight A proposed sewer plant near Roland, the target of a Pulaski County lawsuit involving the Pinnacle Mountain Community Coalition, is not in the Lake Maumelle watershed and poses no risk of contamination... October 19, 2022

Residents file lawsuit to block sewage plant near Pinnacle Mountain A Pinnacle Mountain neighborhood coalition and nine Roland families are asking a Pulaski County circuit judge to stop a proposed sewer plant, part of a residential subdivision development project, eve... October 15, 2022

Jury sentences North Little Rock man to 55 years for murder, rejects defense claim that victim implicated someone else NORTH LITTLE ROCK -- A North Little Rock man who fatally shot a father of four was sentenced to 55 years in prison on Thursday by a jury that rejected defense claims authorities had disregarded the mo... October 15, 2022

Jury sentences North Little Rock man to 55 years for murder, rejects defense claim that victim implicated someone else A North Little Rock man who fatally shot a father of four was sentenced to 55 years in prison on Thursday by a jury that rejected defense claims authorities had disregarded the most compelling evidenc... October 14, 2022

Conway attorney files 4th suit over gun restrictions in public buildings A Conway lawyer who has been testing the limits of Arkansas' concealed-carry law has filed his fourth lawsuit over being refused entry with his weapon to a publicly owned building.This time, it is... October 12, 2022

North Little Rock man sentenced to 15 years for using a secret bathroom camera to spy on daughters, their friends LITTLE ROCK -- A 51-year-old North Little Rock father of two who spied on his teenage daughter's friends and other visitors in his bathroom using a secret camera has been sentenced to 15 years in ... October 9, 2022

Sherwood man sentenced to 2½ years for role in shootout that led to brother’s death LITTLE ROCK -- A 22-year-old Sherwood man accused of participating in a College Station shootout in which his brother was killed has accepted a 2½-year prison sentence.Corenthia Chef "Pean... October 9, 2022

Sherwood man sentenced to 2 1/2 years for role in shootout that led to brother’s death A 22-year-old Sherwood man accused of participating in a College Station shootout in which his brother was killed has accepted a 2½-year prison sentence.Corenthia Chef "Peanut" Davie ... October 8, 2022

North Little Rock felon sentenced to 15 years for abuse of corpse, failure to report to authorities A 51-year-old child molester in North Little Rock has accepted a 15-year prison sentence for failing to tell authorities where he was living and disclose the death of his wife of 18 months.Sentencing ... October 7, 2022

North Little Rock man sentenced to 15 years for using a secret bathroom camera to spy on daughters, their friends A 51-year-old North Little Rock father of two who spied on his teenage daughter's friends and other visitors in his bathroom using a secret camera has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for vide... October 7, 2022

Repeat offender gets 30 years in Pulaski County stabbing A plaintiff in a landmark federal court case about how long Arkansas jailed defendants whose mental health was called into question has accepted a 30-year prison sentence for fatally stabbing a homele... October 6, 2022

No-contest pleas entered in code violations at Little Rock apartments A southwest Little Rock apartment complex targeted by regulators over reports of $200,000 in unpaid water bills and more than 300 city code safety violations moved closer to resolving its differences ... October 5, 2022

North Little Rock teen sentenced to 20 years in fatal June 2020 shooting LITTLE ROCK -- A 19-year-old North Little Rock man has accepted a 20-year prison sentence for shooting two men, killing one of them, two years ago just after his 17th birthday.Sentencing papers filed ... October 2, 2022

Illinois man sentenced to 14 years for armed robberies in Arkansas LITTLE ROCK -- A 34-year-old Illinois man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a pair of armed robberies in Little Rock and North Little Rock.The holdups occurred three months apart. The first... October 2, 2022

Little Rock man sentenced to 45 years for deaths of two A 27-year-old Little Rock man has accepted a 45-year prison sentence for killing a man and a woman nine months apart in shootings that also wounded the woman's husband.Sentencing papers filed Thur... October 1, 2022

North Little Rock teen sentenced to 20 years in fatal June 2020 shooting A 19-year-old North Little Rock man has accepted a 20-year prison sentence for shooting two men, killing one of them, two years ago just after his 17th birthday.Sentencing papers filed Wednesday show ... October 1, 2022

Illinois man sentenced to 14 years for armed robberies in Arkansas A 34-year-old Illinois man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a pair of armed robberies in Little Rock and North Little Rock.The holdups occurred three months apart. The first was May 11, 20... October 1, 2022

Unpaid suspension for El Dorado circuit judge recommended by judicial discipline committee An El Dorado circuit judge on his third term has agreed to accept a two-month unpaid suspension rather than go through the public censure process by challenging misconduct accusations against him, jud... September 30, 2022

Pulaski County jury clears Alexander man of rape A 39-year-old Alexander man charged with rape was cleared of wrongdoing by a Pulaski County jury on Wednesday.Nathaniel Collier faced a potential life sentence on the Class Y felony charge. The eight ... September 30, 2022

Trial pushed back for Roland man accused of illegally cutting trees on utility's property The felony tree-chopping trial of Christian counselor and author Dennis Rainey was pushed back eight months Tuesday, due in part to an older proceeding having to take precedence in Pulaski County Circ... September 28, 2022

Bald Knob woman sentenced to year in jail, $2,500 fine in crash that killed Searcy man A Bald Knob woman who killed a friend -- remembered by his 10-year-old daughter as a "hero" -- in a car crash four years ago was sentenced Monday to the maximum punishment for misdemeanor ne... September 28, 2022

Little Rock man sentenced to 8 years for shooting up home A 24-year-old Little Rock man has accepted an eight-year prison sentence for shooting up the Little Rock home of a man later involved in the 2021 slaying of a 10-year-old girl at a city park.Sentencin... September 26, 2022

Murder trial of North Little Rock man ends with hung jury The first-degree murder trial of a 23-year-old North Little Rock man accused of killing a 58-year-old man who complained that the defendant was being stingy with a marijuana cigar ended Thursday with ... September 23, 2022

Judge won’t bar testimony regarding value of timber cut on Central Arkansas Water property near Lake Maumelle A Pulaski County circuit judge has rejected an effort by Christian author and marriage counselor Dennis Rainey to limit or bar prosecution testimony at his upcoming criminal trial about the value of a... September 22, 2022

Attorney in Little Rock child slaying case reports conflict of interest Capital murder proceedings against an 18-year-old Bryant man accused of killing a 7-year-old girl near the Little Rock Zoo around Memorial Day are on hold due to a potential conflict of interest with ... September 22, 2022

Guilty plea entered in Pulaski County hit-and-run The man who killed a Sherwood bicyclist in a hit-and-run collision three years ago pleaded guilty Monday to felony counts of negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an injury accident, with his pu... September 20, 2022

North Little Rock man pleads guilty in hit-and-run that killed Sherwood bicyclist with Fort Smith connections LITTLE ROCK -- The man who killed a Sherwood bicyclist in a hit-and-run collision three years ago pleaded guilty Monday to felony counts of negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an injury accide... September 20, 2022

Friends accused of murdering Little Rock teen A teenager found shot to death on a North Little Rock street corner in March had gone with three friends — now accused of murdering him — to shoot up a home in a mission of revenge, a dete... September 18, 2022

Little Rock sex offender sentenced to 10 years for rape, sexual assault A 42-year-old Little Rock sex offender accused of sexual violence against two women while on probation for molesting a woman has accepted a 10-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault.Sentenci... September 16, 2022

Hot Springs parolee going back to prison for 5th time on firearm, theft charges A 33-year-old Hot Springs parolee is on his way to his fifth state prison term, for fleeing from North Little Rock police with a gun in a stolen truck in November 2020.Timothy Ray Burton II pleaded gu... September 15, 2022

North Little Rock man convicted of raping 13-year-old sentenced to 5 additional years A North Little Rock used-car dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence for raping a 13-year-old girl whom he hired for what he claimed was a modeling photography shoot has accepted a concurrent five-ye... September 14, 2022

Jacksonville man sentenced to 15 years for aggravated robbery, other charges A 22-year-old Jacksonville man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting to taking part in an armed robbery and shooting up a home about two months apart last year.Sentencing papers fil... September 14, 2022

Bail denied for suspect in fatal Little Rock hotel gunfire Labeled a flight risk by Pulaski County prosecutors, a capital-murder suspect and fugitive sex offender arrested in Texas was ordered Thursday to be jailed until his trial over accusations he fatally ... September 11, 2022