Eudora police chief arrested and charged with kidnapping \ UPDATE 11/15/24 - Former chief gets special sentence and will not serve any jail time

Eudora Police Chief Michael Pitts

The Arkansas State Police sent out a press release this afternoon that stated they had arrested the Eudora Police Chief on a kidnapping charge. Kidnapping is a Class B Felony. For a Class B felony, the sentence shall be not less than five years nor more than twenty years and a fine not to exceed $15,000.00.

On October 26, 2023, Pitts responded to a disturbance call at Scott's Gas Station.

Pitts detained John Hill, Jr., a/k/a "Situation", and drove him out of town to County Road 86 while telling him he was going to "beat his ass".

Upon arrival at County Road 86, Pitts took Hill out of his patrol vehicle and in fact "beat his ass". Hill sustained significant injuries to his face and head. Pitts drove off leaving the injured Hill stranded on County Road 86.

Arkansas State Police investigators were originally skeptical of Hill's story. Hill told them that he had concealed a crack pipe in his hand and when Pitts yanked him from the patrol car and slammed him onto the ground he dropped the crack pipe. Upon further questioning Hill told the ASP investigators that the pipe was "chrome, small and long".

ASP investigators then went out to County Road 86 for thorough search of the area where the alleged incident occurred and low and behold guess what they found... a crack pipe matching the exact description given to them by Hill.

The ASP also tracked Pitts cellphone location at the time of the incident and it placed him at that location.

Additionally, a baseball cap that Hill had been wearing had been left on the back seat of Pitts patrol vehicle the night of the incident. Footage from video surveillance cameras from area business had been used to track Pitts movements and some footage showed him parking at a dumpster near Southern Sips Too and turning his vehicle lights off. The ASP located Hills hat near that dumpster.

Here are the court records that have been filed so far.

For a small town Eudora has a shitload of problems with their city government.

In April 2023, we published a story about city hall shenanigans. To view that story, click here.

###

***UPDATE 11/15/24***

According to a press release from the Arkansas State Police, the former Eudora police chief pleaded no contest, also known as a nolo contendere plea, a legal option where a defendant accepts punishment for a criminal charge without admitting guilt or denying the charges.

Pitts was originally charged with kidnapping, a Class B Felony. The charge was changed to Battery 3rd Degree, a misdemeanor.

Here's his plea statement.

Here's the order that suspended inposition of the sentence.

It should be standard procedure in Arkansas that if a cop is convicted of certain types of criminal offenses, they automically lose their law enforcement certification and are provihibited from ever regaining it.

Arkansas Department of Corrections Major Ivory McDaniel Arrested on Multiple Felony Charges

Mugshot of ADC Major Ivory McDaniel According to booking records, Ivory Truall McDaniel was arrested early this morning by Little Rock cops after he beat 23 year old year Joshua Bess with a pair of brass knuckles (an illegal weapon in Arkansas) and stole the cellphone of a 26 year old Tamisha Patton out of her hand while she was calling the police to report the attack on Bess. McDaniel fled the scene at the Arbors of Pleasant Valley apartment complex on Hinson Loop Road and was apprehended by LRPD cops at another apartment complex on Green Mountain Drive. McDaniel faces three Class D felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. McDaniel is a Major with the Arkansas Department of Correction at the Varner Unit located south of Pine Bluff. We reached out to the Department of Corrections for comments, but they had not responded to our request at the time of publication. McDaniel appeared before Little Rock District Court Judge Jill Stewart Camps at 9:00AM today and pleaded not gui...

ASP Trooper texts and stalks a 14 year old that was near same age as his own daughter, while having an affair with her married sister.

Was ASP Trooper Billy Martin trying to pull all 3 sisters? In January 2019, Callie Hinson and Joseph Ramer began dating. On June 13, 2020, Joseph proposed to Callie. They were married on February 21, 2021. By the time of their first anniversary, their marriage was in shambles and Callie was estranged from her family all due to this man, Arkansas State Police Trooper Billy Mitchell Martin. Martin joined the ASP as a recruit in January of 2007. Records from his personnel file indicate he was from Boone County and he was posted there after graduating troop school. Martin was promoted to Trooper First Class in July 2011 and Corporal in July 2014. In late 2019 and early 2020, Martin tried to get transferred to a Criminal Investigation position in Boone County but was unsuccessful. Around that same time, Martin filed for divorce from his wife of 10 years. The Divorce was finalized in March 2020. Martin hit the single scene hard and had no trouble hooking up with bad...

ASP Trooper Lincoln Smith fired for admitted criminal activity

The Arkansas State Police has confirmed that Trooper Lincoln Smith from Troop E (based in Pine Bluff) was fired on April 11th for illegal conduct. False reports of his arrest went viral on social media. As the ASP criminal investigation is on-going, they will not release any further details of his criminal actions. As the termination letter states, Smith admitted to criminal conduct and was immediately fired. Smith was hired by the ASP on October 2023. Smith was employed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as a Game Warden prior to his hiring by the ASP. Records obtained from CLEST do not indicate that the ASP requested decertification. Jacksonville 911 was contacted about Smith and they advised he last worked for them in 2022. At the time of publication, Smith's Facebook page is still open and up. Stay tuned for updates.

Snarky Media Report

Search This Blog