Longtime lawman remembered fondly after passing

PARAGOULD — When John Purcell passed away on Dec. 28, he was remembered as a top-notch law officer. He served 26-1/2 years as an Arkansas State Trooper, as well as 24 years as a Greene County constable for what was then Clark Township.

'John was a family friend,' said Arkansas State Police Cpl. Todd Harris. 'He was friends with my dad, and Id known him as long as I can remember.'

But Harris was quick to add Purcell was a whole lot more to him personally.

'He asked me: 'what do you want to be?'' Harris said. 'And I told him: 'a State Trooper like you.' So he got me started — he's the reason I wear the uniform now.'

Harris added Purcell was a great story-teller. 'He had a way to spin a yarn that would make you want to hear it,' he said.

And Purcell was genuine, Harris concluded. 'He was 100 percent John Purcell, through and through,' he said. 'There was nothing of putting on airs about him.

The last three Greene County Sheriffs also remembered Purcell with respect and affection. 'He was an 'old school' cop,' said Sheriff Steve Franks.

'I'd known him for years.'

He added that Purcell was still a state trooper when Franks started as a policeman at the Marmaduke Police Department. 'And he went beyond just being a cop,' he said. 'He was always there when you needed him. He was always a cop's cop.'

Franks noted Purcell's continued service in law enforcement as the constable of what was then Clark Township after he'd retired from the Arkansas State Police. 'He'd come to the Sheriff's Department,' he said, 'and ask if there was anything he could do [to help.]' Like Harris, Franks said Purcell's skill as a storyteller. 'He always had stories, both old and new,' he said. 'Everybody liked to listen to them.

'He'll be sorely missed.'

Franks' predecessor David Carter remembered Purcell fondly as well. 'He'd always come to the office to visit,' he said, 'and I enjoyed his talks. He was a wealth of information.'

Carter added Purcell was also a dangerous competitor, in a manner of speaking. 'He was an excellent shot,' he said, 'and I didn't want him to shoot against me.'

Carter added Purcell was all the more challenging as a shooting competitor when he went to the firing range given his use of a 'wheel gun' — his service-issued revolver — instead of the semi-automatic pistols in common use by many law enforcement agencies. 'He was 'old school,'' Carter said.

Carter's predecessor Dan Langston remembered Purcell as always willing to help in any way he could.

He explained that back when he (Langston) was on the Paragould Police Department before he became sheriff in 1997, Purcell had been extremely helpful to both the department and the Federal

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Bureau of Investigation during an incident at a local bank. 'A juvenile had gone into one of the banks with a .22 [-caliber rifle],' Langston said, 'and he wasn't trying to rob it -just disrupt it. And John was there to help both us and the FBI.

‘Any time we needed support, he was there.’

That support of local law enforcement continued, Langston said, after he had become sheriff and Purcell had retired. 'Anytime we needed anything, he was always there to support us,' he said. 'He never overreacted and never had a bad demeanor.

‘He’ll be sadly missed.’

Greene County District Judge Dan Stidham acknowledged Purcell's great stature as a law officer. 'John was considered a

legend in law enforcement,’

he said. 'Any time any of us [i.e. judges, attorneys or law enforcement personnel] had a question, he was available [to answer it]. He was a joy to work with.'

Stidham added Purcell's death was a shock. 'I know he was in his 80s, but I was stunned,' he said. 'He always looked the picture of health. He looked about 40 years younger than he really was.'

Like Harris and Franks, Stidham recalled Purcell's penchant for storytelling. 'I enjoyed the times he'd stop by and tell those stories,' he said. 'I'll miss those long conversations with him.

'He will be sorely missed — he was a legend.'

'I met John in 1980 when I was a jailer,' added Omer Overbay, Greene County reserve deputy sheriff and organizer of the annual Retired Greene County Law Enforcement Officers dinners. Overbay said that thanks to Purcell and then-State Police trooper James Danley, he and several other newly hired deputies had been able to ride along and learn the tricks of the trade. 'They showed us how to be policemen,' he said.

Overbay noted that at the time, new deputies had to wait up to a year before being able to attend the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy to receive formal training. 'In the meantime,' he said, 'you were on your own, and they helped us.'

Overbay said Purcell loved law enforcement and those who served in the profession. 'The people in our career were special to him. He loved the career.'

Overbay noted that even after retirement from the Arkansas State Police, Purcell continued to serve in law enforcement. 'He was a Greene County constable up to the deay he died,' Overbay concluded.

Purcell is his wife of 57 years, Barbara Purcell; son and daughter in law, Harrell and Zhaoxiu Tan Purcell; daughters, Carol Purcell, Naomi Purcell and fiancé, Corey Straub; brother and sister in law, Don and Sherri Purcell; grandchildren, Sarah Purcell, Zack Purcell, and Yi Wei; and great-granddaughter,

Desiree Wynn. ***

JONESBORO — AWynne man is being held on a $100,000 cash bond as authorities suspect him of driving recklessly, causing the death of a woman and injuries to himself and three others.

Devonte Stanback, 28, fled Friday from a Brookland police officer after a traffic stop was initiated along

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U.S. 49 for running a red light, according to the probable cause affidavit. As he entered Jonesboro, state police took over the chase and noted that Stanback reached speeds exceeding 100 mph.

Before turning onto Harrisburg Road, Stanback “appeared to have turned off (his) lights during the attempt to elude pursuing officers,” the affidavit read. A witness reported that they saw Stanback throw a bag from the vehicle at the intersection of Aggie Road and Red Wolf Blvd., it states. The Arkansas State University Police Department recovered the bag, which contained 4 pounds of marijuana.

Traveling northbound on Harrisburg, the 2020 Toyota Highlander left the east side of the road, traveled up a ditch embankment, hit a light pole and brick fence, according to Arkansas State Police.

“(The vehicle) went airborne colliding with an apartment complex. (It) came to final rest facing east in the yard of the apartment complex” in the 3800 block of Harrisburg Road, the ASP preliminary crash summary read.

Julianna Valle, 21, of Farmington, died in the accident, records show.

Darian Nauden, 24, of Conway, “sustained significant injuries and required hospitalization and a juvenile male under the age of 12 sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of the collision.”

A second minor was reportedly injured, but was not mentioned in the probable cause affidavit. According to the ASP preliminary summary, the injured parties, including Stanback, were treated at St. Bernards

District Court Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause Wednesday to charge Stanback with manslaughter, seconddegree battery injuring a person 12 years or younger, possession of marijuana with the purpose to deliver, second-degree battery causing injury, tampering with physical evidence, fleeing in a vehicle, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and failure to obey a traffic control device.

In an attempt to get his bond reduced, Stanback’s Fayetteville-based attorney B.C. Pickett said that one STATE NEWS (cont.)

of the injured minors is a relative of the suspect.

Fowler denied Pickett’s request.

Stanback is scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 26 at the Craighead County Courthouse, 511 S. Main St., Jonesboro.

***

WEINER — The victims who died Monday in a rural Poinsett County airplane accident, have been identified as Sean Stem, 52, and Nickoles Warren, 41, both of Jonesboro, Sheriff Kevin Molder announced last Thursday afternoon.

While their next-of-kin were notified after a “community identification” at the scene, County Coroner Butch Davis said their bodies were transported Monday to the state medical examiner’s office for positive identification. This was done so following a request from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the fatal crash.

“Local authorities will release the names and medical conditions of the aircraft’s occupants. … Neither (federal) agency identifies people involved in aircraft accidents,” FAA public affairs specialist Elizabeth Cory told The Sun on Monday.

In Molder’s Thursday statement, he noted that Stem was piloting the plane and Warren was a passenger.

According to an FAA database, Stem was certified to fly single- and multi-engine airplanes.

The Hawker Beech twinengine plane was headed from Jonesboro to Conway and crashed just before 9:30 a.m. during takeoff, a NTSB representative told The Sun.

Local dispatchers learned of the crash at 9:44 a.m., Molder previously stated.

The wreckage was found in a field just off Flag Slough Lane between Weiner and Grubbs.

Stem was the president of Jonesboro-based Construction Network Inc.

Warren was a franchisee of Tommy's Express Car Wash, online sources show. Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver referred to Stem as his friend during a Tuesday council meeting.

“He was a civic leader and our prayers go out to the Stem family. Sean was involved in our community and he also represented us on committees as well,” Copenhaver said.

NTSB is investigating the cause of the accident with the assistance of FAA’s onscene documentation. As of Thursday afternoon, a preliminary report notes that the totaled plane “crashed under unknown circumstances and caught fire.”

“The family and friends of those who perished in this crash are in our thoughts and prayers,” Molder said.

Northeast Arkansans can submit witness reports or relay information to investigators at witness@ntsb.gov.