During Columbia County Criminal Court Thursday, Circuit Judge David Talley sentenced Montie Lynn King, 40, to five years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) for failing to register as a sex offender. Although King is one of the charged suspects in the June 26 arson of Mount Superior Missionary Baptist Church in Macedonia, the Magnolia resident’s fate on that matter is yet to be resolved.
When arrested on July 7 in connection with the church fire, King was also charged with the crime of a homeless sex offender failing to comply with registration requirements. On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to the felony and issued the five-year ADC sentence by Talley. The sex offender title was given to King after being found guilty on a previous charge of criminal sexual assault of a victim between the ages of 13 and 17, according to Arkansas criminal records.
King is also facing charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, commercial burglary, and arson ($100,000 in damages) in connection with the Mount Superior fire. Due to these additional charges, King will be required to appear before Talley in Columbia County again in the future. As of Monday morning, he is still incarcerated in the Columbia County Detention Center where he has been held since his arrest. He will soon be transferred to a state facility to serve his prison sentence.
Along with King, two others have been charged in the church arson case. Emerson resident Tiffany Jean Welch, 38, and Shane Groves, 45, of Magnolia were both arrested on July 7 — the same day as King. Charged with commercial burglary and arson ($100,000), Welch is currently on house arrest until her legal proceedings can advance. As part of her bond release agreement, Welch must have no contact with any person associated with Mount Superior Missionary Baptist Church and cannot consume any drugs or alcohol, be in the presence of guns, and must obey any state and federal laws.
According to the Columbia County Sheriffs’s Office inmate roster, Groves is currently being held in the county detention center on $150,000 bond. He is charged with commercial burglary, arson ($100,000), parole violation, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Also during criminal court Thursday, Shannon L. Bunn of Magnolia was sentenced to six years in ADC and 10 years SIS (suspended imposition of sentence) after pleading guilty to forgery-second degree and revocation of probation. Bunn was issued a five-year probationary sentence as a first time offender in January 2016 after pleading guilty to forgery-second degree.
The next scheduled criminal court session for Columbia County is Thursday, Dec. 2.