A Columbia County man charged with multiple felonies after a 2018 high-speed chase with police near Waldo was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday in criminal circuit court.
Damion Deonta Walker, 28, was arrested Sept. 8, 2018, after authorities attempted a routine speeding stop that morphed into hot-pursuit involving illegal narcotics.
“The vehicle turned left at the intersection of Hwy. 98 [and Col. Rd. 13 in McNeil] and headed west bound toward Waldo,” said a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit.
After the driver refused to stop, even after patrol sirens were lit, the chase became much more hazardous.
“The vehicle’s speed reached up to 107 mph over the next five miles,” the affidavit stated.
Walker was later arrested in Waldo after he stopped at a residence. Marijuana, meth, and a pipe were found in his car or seen dropped during the pursuit, according to court records. He has been incarcerated at the Columbia County Detention Center ever since.
The Waldo resident on Thursday was also sentenced to a total of 28 years SIS and forfeited $1,277 in cash seized by police. The sentence was handed down by Circuit Judge David W. Talley after Walker pleaded true to revocation of probation and guilty to possession of a marijuana with purpose to deliver, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and felony fleeing by vehicle. The defendant was also charged with possession of marijuana and misdemeanor speeding and driving without a license, but the counts were dropped as part of the plea deal.
Walker, through his public defense attorney Jessica Yarbrough, requested a two-week delay in sentencing for the 28-year-old to "be with his children," but the plea to the court ultimately failed and the defendant stayed in custody of the Sheriff’s Office. Yarbrough noted that her client would be staying in a Waldo home with his 23-month-old child’s mother during the two weeks. Walker was released from prison in 2017 on prior felony drug convictions and has been in the county jail for the past six months.
“He does have small children and he wants to be with them before he is transported,” said Yarbrough.
During questioning from the judge, Walker told the court that he had not been employed since his November 2017 prison release.
“Since you weren’t working, I’m assuming there’s been no point in this child’s life that you supported it,” said Talley.
“A little, but not really,” answered the defendant.
The judge also asked if drugs were ever present around the child.
“It was never inside, it was only outside,” Walker said.
In his reasoning for denial, the judge noted that the defendant had failed to comply with SIS conditions “almost from day-one” after he was previously released from prison.
Other cases heard Thursday in circuit court also netted prison and probation time.
Mathew Jordan Newman was sentenced to six years ADC after he pleaded to probation revocation and possession of a schedule I/II controlled substance (not meth or cocaine). He was also issued a six-year SIS term and must complete the long-term drug rehabilitation program before being released from prison.
The 28-year-old was already incarcerated at the Columbia County Detention Center after he was arrested Jan. 30 by the Magnolia Police Department. According to a statement from from the agency, Newman was charged with felony fleeing by vehicle, running five stop signs, and failing to signal four times in a Jan. 19 reckless driving incident near N. Dudney Street in Magnolia.
According to state, the new case has not yet been formally filed, but the court informed Newman that drug court could be an option for him in his new case.
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Elvis Ray Barnes of Waldo was sentenced to three years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and five years SIS on one count of failing to register as a sex offender. He was also charged with possession of marijuana, but the count was dropped as part of the guilty plea.
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Haley Nicole Owen, charged with breaking or entering, was sentenced to three years SIS after pleading no contest. The state in its recommendation, amended the Class D felony charge to a misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing. The charges stemmed from a Nov. 6, 2018, incident where the then 27-year-old entered a shop structure at Joe Owen’s, her father, Stamps property without permission.
For her not contest plea, Owen was entered into the Alternative Sentencing Program (ASP), where, as a result of the misdemeanor charge only carrying a maximum prison sentence of six months, she now has only half a year to complete what is typically a 12-month-plus program. If completed, she will have the charge dropped and her record sealed. The program contains certain requirements that must be met, often including regular drug screenings, community service, and paying back any court costs and fines in full.
If the requirements are not upheld to the court’s liking in the limited timeframe, Owen could be removed from the program and issued the original jail-time associated with the no contest plea.