Lonoke Arkansas

Campbells Test Positive For Drugs
They had been granted appeal bonds what were they thinking??????

A judge ruled Tuesday that former Lonoke police chief Jay Campbell and his wife will remain in prison pending their appeal on convictions in a long-running corruption trial after testing positive for drug use.

Campbell and his wife, Kelly Campbell, were to be released on bond pending their appeals in a corruption case involving drugs, jewelry and sex. Their bonds were conditional on passing a drug test taken immediately after their sentencing.

At Tuesday’s hearing in Cabot, Prosecutor Lona McCastlain says the state introduced evidence showing Jay Campbell tested positive for the painkiller hydrocodone after saying he was on no medication. McCastlain says Kelly Campbell tested positive for the tranquilizer benzodiazepine, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates.

The judge also denied a request by the Campbells to overturn their sentences.

McCastlain says lawyers representing the Campbells asked to be relieved from the case. The prosecutor says the Campbells' appeal request will head to the state Supreme Court, which will find lawyers to represent them.

However, preparing for an appeal will be costly. McCastlain says estimates from the court's recorder put the cost of transcribing the long-running trial at about $70,000.

The couple have been in state prisons since Special Circuit Judge John Cole followed jury recommendations and sentenced Jay Campbell to serve a total of 40 years in prison and Kelly to a total of 20 years.

The Campbells were convicted in a trial that began in February and included a mistrial of a co-defendant, bail bondsman Bobby Cox Jr. Trial dates are pending against three others, including a former Lonoke mayor.

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

What a couple of idiots!!

They can't pay their attorneys because they were too busy spending the money on drugs. Do they have assets that can be seized? Obviously they won't need a place to live or a vehicle for quite some time. Also, is the State required to provide a free attorney for an appeal on a non-death sentenced case?

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=46276

Former Lonoke Police Chief Moved To Missouri Prison





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Campbells Test Positive For Drugs, Remain In Prison


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The Arkansas prison system has moved the convicted former Lonoke police chief to custody in Missouri to help protect him from other inmates.

Former Lonoke chief Jay Campbell was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted on corruption-related charges. His wife, Kelly Campbell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after similar convictions. The charges involved allegations of illicit drugs, sex and theft. (See link below picture for more stories on the Campbells.)

Jay Campbell had been held in the Diagnostic Unit in Pine Bluff. Correction Department spokeswoman Dina Tyler says there are inmates that Campbell helped lock up from his time as chief and as a Pulaski County sheriff's deputy.

Kelly Campbell is in the state prison system's McPherson Unit in Newport.

The Campbells are appealing their convictions.

They were convicted in a seven-week trial that began in February and included a mistrial of a co-defendant, bail bondsman Bobby Cox Jr.

Trial dates are pending against three others, including a former Lonoke mayor. Sentences were pronounced April 24.




(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


Robert Bell, Executive Producer
Created: 5/22/2007 10:45:24 AM
Updated: 5/22/2007 11:03:02 AM

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

I tried posting this darn article 3X waaaaaaaaaaaaaa

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. LOL.

I wondered why you hadn't posted it when I saw it.

It is true, though. Anyone in LE, the courts, or our professions would have a very difficult time staying safe in "population" in a detention center that we had had contact with. I'm also sure that it won't take long for his identity to become known wherever he goes, so he can probably look at 40 years of "protection" in solitary confinement.

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Kelly Campbell drops appeal to 2007 conviction
Wife of former Lonoke police chief Jay Campbell has dropped her appeal to her 2007 conviction.


Kelly Campbell's appeal was scheduled to be heard Wednesday.

Campbell is currently scheduled to be released from prison in September.

According to her attorney, she decided to serve the time rather than risk a new trial in Lonoke County that could potentially bring a longer sentence of up to 320 years.

In 2007, Campbell was convicted of burglary, drugs, and theft charges and was also convicted of having sex with Lonoke County prison inmates.

A parole board hearing is scheduled for May.

Kelly's husband, Jay, was just granted a new trial after the state Supreme Court ruled prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to convict him.

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Jay Campbell's bond set at $50,000
Former Lonoke police chief Ronald Jay Campbell's bond was set for $50,000 after a hearing that started at 10 a.m. this morning in Lonoke County Circuit Court.
You might recall a big story from two years ago; the Lonoke police chief and his wife were convicted of dozens of charges ranging from burglary to running a criminal entreprise.
After more than two years in prison, Jay Campbell was lead into the Lonoke County Courthouse for a new bond hearing.





A judge has set a $50,000 bond for Campbell, whose corruption conviction was overturned by the Arkansas Supreme Court last month.
Campbell said he felt great about receiving a lower bond. Prosecutors wanted $150,000.

Indicted in 2006, Campbell was eventually convicted on 23 counts but justices said prosecutors failed to prove a set of random allegations was a continuing criminal enterprise. Justices also said a search warrant was defective.

Even though his conviction was overturned, some of the charges still stand. Prosecutors have until Jan. 22 to decide if they have enough evidence to go to trial a second time.
Now that he's free on bond once again, Campbell says he can't wait to see his two daughters, Kennedy and Sydney.

Campbell will talk with his wife Kelly on the phone Monday night. She's still in prison in Pine Bluff. Kelly Campbell's appeal is scheduled to be heard in January.

Jay Campbell did not want to comment on the charges against him.



Source: Today's THV & Associated Press

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Campbell was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2007 for criminal conduct. The Lonoke prosecuting attorney would only release a statement that he just received the court's opinion and he's reviewing it.

Meanwhile, Campbell's attorneys say the ruling is a big step toward justice and the former police chief could soon be a free man.

Even before Campbell and his wife, Kelly, were convicted in the criminal trial, attorney Mark Hampton always thought the prosecution's case was full of errors. In fact, he thinks the trial was less about hard evidence and more of a personal attack.

"I thought that the prosecution was very overzealous in what they charged, and at no point did I think there was anything close to a continuing criminal enterprise in this case," he said.

Thursday, the Ark. Supreme Court overturned that conviction saying the prosecution did not present enough evidence that Campbell ran a criminal network, which involved buying and selling drugs and extorting people for money. The justices also ruled lower courts improperly allowed testimony about Kelly Campbell's sexual conduct with county inmates.

The continuing criminal enterprise was the most serious charge in the Campbell case, and was largely the reason he was sent to prison for 40 years.

Campbell's wife is serving a 20-year sentence. A judge denied an initial appeal for both after court documents showed they tested positive for drugs. After the trial, the court appointed new attorneys for them.

Martin Kasten and a new defense team have been working on the two-year long appeal.

"We are still looking at the opinion deciding which issues are left to be tried," he said.

Kasten says his team appealed several of Campbell's convictions but the court only addressed the continuing criminal enterprise charge. Regardless, he says the Supreme Court's decision could have his client out of prison soon.

"We feel that a just result has been issued in this case," said Kasten.

Jay Campbell is serving his time in a Missouri prison because his ties to law enforcement caused him problems with other inmates in Arkansas prisons.

Early Friday, Campbell's mother-in-law, who now has custody of the couple's two children, told Today's THV in a phone conversation that Kelly Campbell's appeal, is pending. The family is expecting a court date early January.

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Lonoke ex-chief Jay Campbell to be retried of 17 felony charges
Lindsey Clark

A prosecutor says he will retry former Lonoke police chief Jay Campbell on 17 felony charges accusing him of involvement in making illegal drugs, theft, and stealing prescription medications.

Campbell's conviction on those charges, plus a count that accused him of running a criminal enterprise, was overturned last year by the state Supreme Court.

Lonoke County Prosecutor Will Feland said in court Friday that he will not retry Campbell on the continuing-criminal enterprise charge and some other counts. Feland also cited statutes of limitations and time already served as reasons for not pursuing additional drug, burglary and theft charges.

Campbell was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he was convicted in April 2007 on 23 counts, including masterminding a criminal enterprise and a series of underlying crimes. The high court said in a November ruling that the prosecution took a random set of allegations and wrongly concluded that Campbell conducted a continuing criminal enterprise.

Campbell was released Dec. 21 on $50,000 bond after spending two years behind bars.

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Jay Campbell sentenced to 15 years

Ex-Lonoke Police Chief Jay Campbell was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday when he pleaded no contest at his hearing in Lonoke County.


He faced four felony counts, including two counts of residential burglary, one count of theft of property and one count of obtaining controlled substance by fraud.

The 15-year sentence recommended by the state of Arkansas is greater than the sentencing guidelines; the state contends that aggravating factors include being in a position of trust with victims, multiple counts and multiple sentences which ran concurrently.

The court has ordered Campbell to report to the Lonoke County Sheriff for transport to the Department of Corrections on Feb. 12.

Source: Lonoke Prosecuting Attorney's office

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN