Paragould man sentenced for child porn

JONESBORO — A federal judge sentenced a Paragould man to five years and three months in prison for possessing child pornography.

Richard Bailey Jr., 40, pleaded guilty to the charge Thursday in Little Rock in a case first uncovered in 2019.

U.S. District Judge Brian S.

Miller also ruled that Bailey will remain under court supervision for five years following his release from prison.

According to court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip from Microsoft about apparent child exploitation material.

The internet provider address was traced to a home on Fifth Street. During an interview with law enforcement officers, Bailey admitted to downloading child pornography. The court document, which stipulated to the facts of the case said a search of Bailey’s computer revealed more than 6,000 “images and videos of child abuse and child exploitive material.”

Following his sentencing, he was immediately taken to prison. Receipt of child pornography carries jail time of up to 40 years.

***

A medical examiner has determined the death of a Conway man following a foot pursuit with Conway Police Department (CPD) officers on July 17, 2023, was “accidental,” the department said in a statement on Friday. Deitric Williams, 26, died at a local area hospital about 4:18 p.m. on July 17, 2023, after he began to show “signs of medical distress” after officers took him into custody, a statement issued by the CPD in the aftermath of Williams’ death last summer read.

An investigation by the Arkansas State Police (ASP) and report by a medical examiner “attributed Mr. Williams’ passing to ‘complications from sickle cell trait,’” the CPD said. An additional contributory cause of death listed by the medical examiner was “exertion, apprehension and methamphetamine use.”

In a letter dated Dec. 20, 2023, from Faulkner County Prosecutor Carol Crews to Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar, Crews said: “I do not believe that any evidence exists to support criminal charges against any Conway Police officers involved in the incident,” adding that her office first received the ASP report on Sept. 15, 2023. The autopsy report wasn’t completed until Dec. 14, 2023.

“Despite a widely shared rumor circulated on social media soon after the event, the body worn cameras recorded the entire interaction that law enforcement had with Mr. Williams,” Crews said.

“At no point was he struck, tazed or beaten or in any other way harmed. All the evidence shows that this was a tragic accident, which resulted from his sickle cell trait, methamphetamine use and physical exertion in fleeing from law enforcement.”

Officers first made contact with Williams at about 11:44 a.m. on July 17, 2023, after being dispatched by the Conway Emergency Operations Center to the McDonald’s on Oak Street to respond to a “domestic disturbance,” the CPD statement from last summer read. “The Conway Emergency Operations Center advised there was a male and a female who were reportedly fighting inside a vehicle in the parking lot,” the CPD statement read.

Williams spoke with officers shortly after they arrived and “began to rummage through” his car after officers asked him for identification.

“Due to officer safety concerns, he was advised to exit the vehicle,” the CPD statement read. “When the male did not comply, he was pulled out of the vehicle, and then proceeded to flee on foot.”

Officers pursued Williams and eventually located him behind a duplex on Gum Street, taking him into custody. At that point, Williams began to exhibit symptoms of medical distress.

“Mr. Williams indicated that he was in distress, prompting officers to call for medical assistance,” the CPD statement from Friday read. “While waiting for medical personnel to arrive, officers helped Mr.

Williams sit up and at one point, moved him to a shaded area. Once the medical personnel arrived, Mr. Williams was transported to the hospital. He later died while receiving medical treatment.”

***

Bomb threats prompt evacuations of government buildings in

Arkansas, other states

LITTLE ROCK — Government buildings in several states were evacuated Thursday following bomb threats, causing brief disruptions for the second day in a row in some places.

The Pulaski County Courthouse in downtown Little Rock was evacuated Thursday morning after it received a bomb threat. The threat was announced shortly after a hearing began in a lawsuit between the state Board of Corrections and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The governor and the board have been in an increasingly heated dispute over who runs the state prison system.

Police gave the all-clear after searching the building and allowed people back inside around 11:15 a.m.

The Mississippi Capitol and courthouses Montana were also evacuated, but no explosives were immediately found, and the buildings were reopened to the public.

The latest round of evacuations comes after an emailed threat to officials in several states prompted lockdowns at multiple state capitols Wednesday. The threats also follow a spate of false reports of shootings at the homes of public officials in recent days. In Jackson, Mississippi, officials said the state Supreme Court, which is across the street from the state Capitol building, received a bomb threat. Bomb-sniffing dogs circled the building before officials cleared the area.

The FBI said it was aware of “numerous hoax incidents” Thursday.

“The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” Marshay Lawson, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Jackson Division, said in a statement.

“While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners.”

The Cascade County courthouse in Great Falls, Montana, was evacuated Thursday morning after the county received a bomb threat. The courthouse was reopened after law enforcement officials determined the threat wasn’t credible.

In Montana, the Mineral County Justice Court was also evacuated after the county received a bomb threat via email, Sheriff Ryan Funke said. Law enforcement officers searched the courtrooms in Superior. Officials spoke with federal and state agencies and determined the incident was not a threat to the public or court employees, Funke said in a statement.