FAYETTEVILLE -- Jurors being selected for a capital murder and kidnapping trial set to begin last week in Washington County Circuit Court were dismissed from duty after prosecutors and defense attorneys reached a plea bargain at the last minute and the defendant pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to first-degree murder and kidnapping.
James Patton, 35, of Prairie Grove, was sentenced to 60 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction, with 30 years suspended. Patton will have to serve at least 70 percent of the sentence before he can be considered eligible for parole.
Circuit Judge William Storey thanked jurors for showing up for duty and told them he did not think the charges would have been resolved if they had not been ready to start trial.
Storey noted he has heard the case four times.
"In my judgment, this was the appropriate resolution of the case," Storey said April 1.
Patton was the fourth person accused in the beating death of Ronnie Lee Bradley of Prairie Grove. Bradley's body was found Dec. 27, 2012, in a driveway in rural southwest Washington County. The weather was 19 degrees that morning and Bradley was not wearing a shirt. All four suspects were facing charges of accomplice to capital murder and kidnapping.
Timothy Williams Swinford, 37, and Anthony Swinford, 35, both of Prairie Grove, pleaded guilty last fall to being an accomplice to first-degree murder and kidnapping. Timothy Swinford was sentenced to 80 years at the department of corrections with 30 years suspended. Anthony Swinford was sentenced to two consecutive 40-year terms.
Heather Carlene Swain, 36, of Prairie Grove, went to trial in January and after three days, the jury found her guilty of accomplice to capital murder and kidnapping. A capital murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. In addition to a life sentence, Storey gave Swain 25 years for the kidnapping conviction.
According to testimony in Swain's trial, Swain drove her vehicle around the county for seven to eight hours while the Swinfords repeatedly beat up and choked Bradley. His body finally was dumped out at the end of the evening. On the stand, Anthony Swinford admitted that he had been drinking alcohol and using drugs and he was the one who mainly beat up and strangled Bradley. Swinford claimed he didn't realize the severity of Bradley's injuries.
Swain did not take the stand but jurors watched a two-hour video of her interview by Washington County detectives the day Bradley's body was discovered. Videos and witness statements from Swain's trial showed the four were in her vehicle and they stopped at multiple places around the county that day.
Bradley died from internal injuries to the head and strangulation, according to Dr. Charles Kokes, chief medical examiner with the Arkansas State Crime Lab. Testifying in Swain's trial, Kokes said Bradley's body had about 100 injuries inflicted by at least 50 blows. His body had blunt injuries to the face, neck, chest, back, arms and legs and his neck had a band shaped injury consistent with the use of a seat belt.
John Threet, Washington County prosecuting attorney, said the plea bargain represents Patton's involvement in the murder in that Patton was the least culpable.
"At one point, according to testimony, Patton actively tried to stop this and he got beat up for it," Threet said.
However, he pointed out Patton had other opportunities to extricate himself from the situation and chose not to do that. In addition, from testimony in Swain's trial, Patton drove the vehicle at one point during the evening.
Threet said the convictions and sentences for all four suspects represented the culpability of each in the murder.
"Drugs and alcohol wrecked five lives back on Dec. 27, 2012," Threet said. "I don't think that stone cold any of this would have happened."
Sheriff's detective, Brett Hagen, said the case represented a "sad day" because of all the lives affected. "Justice is done," Hagen said after the plea bargain was announced to the jury and Storey dismissed court.
Denis Dean, deputy prosecuting attorney, said county, state and federal agencies helped with the investigation. Threet added that the sheriff's office put in a tremendous amount of work and effort in getting a resolution of all four people involved.
General News on 04/09/2014