UPDATED: Jury gives minimum sentence in murder verdict; defendant plans to appeal

Editor’s note: This post was updated on 11/8/24 to include new details, and was written under a different headline. The original article appears below the update.

By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

Following a two-day trial, jurors deliberated for about 30 minutes before returning with a minimum sentence for an Arkadelphia man they had convicted of second-degree murder.

On Friday morning, Nov. 8, 2024, jurors delivered a six-year prison sentence for Chase Langstaff after hearing victim impact statements. Langstaff will spend at least 18 months in prison before he’s eligible for parole. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Friday’s proceedings were an emotional denouement of the trial. The victim’s grandmother sobbed while reading a prepared statement about a life cut short. Ayden Hendricks, 16, would have been a senior in high school now had he not been gunned down outside an Arkadelphia apartment in December 2022.

Langstaff’s aunt also sobbed as she pleaded with jurors to consider a minimum sentence, describing her nephew as a humble young man who would go out of his way to help anyone. She extended her condolences to both victims’ families as Langstaff held his face in his hands, weeping.

Langstaff took the stand next, fighting back tears as he spoke candidly to jurors and voiced remorse. “I wish I could take it back,” he said. “I’m sorry for everything. … I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Once court was adjourned, The Arkadelphian asked Langstaff’s attorney whether an appeal is in the works. She said she does plan to appeal the verdict. Langstaff could face a harsher sentence if the Arkansas Court of Appeals upholds the Clark County conviction. The defense has 30 days to appeal the case.

“I’m just heartbroken for the families that are involved,” 9th East Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner told a reporter after sentencing. Asked what message the jury’s decision sends to Clark County citizens, Turner said, “people have to cooperate with law enforcement if we want safe communities, and not look at police as the enemy.”

The following is the original article published on 11/7/24:

Jury delivers mixed verdict in Arkadelphia double homicide

It took a Clark County jury three hours to return a mixed verdict for the man who shot and killed two people outside his apartment in December 2022.

Chase Langstaff, 21, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Ayden Hendricks. A verdict of not guilty was handed down on the same charge in the death of Quartez “Dada” Burton, 24.

Langstaff shot Hendricks and Burton in the back as they descended the outside stairwell leading to the parking lot at Lark Place Apartments, where they had just robbed Langstaff’s friend and neighbor of an undisclosed amount of money and drugs.

Langstaff was ordered to be held in the custody of the Clark County Detention Center to await the sentencing phase Friday morning.

Langstaff: “I closed my eyes and started shooting.”

Langstaff, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, wept as he told jurors the details of the night of Dec. 30, 2022. He’d been folding laundry inside his apartment when he heard a truck driving up and down the street that separates several apartments on Lark Place. He soon heard footsteps ascending the stairwell leading to the pair of upstairs apartments where he lived, then a jiggle at his door knob. He looked through the peephole of his front door, but no one was there.

Curious about the commotion, he investigated further, grabbing a 9mm pistol before stepping outside, where he noticed his neighbor’s door was standing wide open. He testified that he inched closer until he heard loud voices demanding money, then “back-pedaled” toward his own apartment. His back against the wall, he watched as two masked individuals exited his neighbor’s apartment. Langstaff said that Hendricks, whom he did not know, walked past him, but that Burton called him by name.

Although there had been no physical evidence suggesting that either Burton or Hendricks were armed, Langstaff testified that Burton pointed a gun at his head, and that Hendricks began walking back up the stairs when he decided to pull the trigger.

“I closed my eyes and started shooting,” Langstaff said. All five shots made contact with the fleeing robbery suspects — two struck Burton, and three hit Hendricks, who died near the base of the steps. Burton made it to the getaway car and was driven to Baptist Health Medical Center-Arkadelphia, where he succumbed to gunshot wounds.

Langstaff spent the night in hiding at his mother’s Arkadelphia residence. Questioned later by police, Langstaff denied involvement in the shooting. He testified that he drove to the Ouachita River boat ramp the next afternoon and hurled the weapon into the water. Langstaff later turned himself in. The gun was never found.

Burton shot point-blank

Jurors heard testimony from multiple witnesses throughout the day, including expert witnesses from the Arkansas State Crime Lab. Among them were Dr. Stephen Erickson, the deputy chief medical examiner who performed autopsies on both victims.

Erickson concluded that Hendricks, the teenage victim, died as a result of one of the two shots fired into his upper back. One of those shots caused a superficial wound. Shrapnel from a third round was located on his legs.

Burton’s wounds were located in the middle of his back and on his tricep. Evidence suggested that he was shot at near-point-blank range, Erickson said.

Was it self-defense?

While in high school, Langtaff played basketball for the Arkadelphia Badgers. He had local jobs at Burger King and Chick-fil-A. Until the shooting, he had never been in trouble with law enforcement.

Langstaff’s defense counsel, Conway attorney Tabatha Branch, argued in closing that he acted in self-defense.

Since 2021 Arkansas has been a “stand your ground” state, meaning people are allowed to use deadly force in self-defense without retreating from a threatening situation, regardless of whether they’re inside or outside their home or property. A person is justified in using deadly physical force if they reasonably believe that the other person is committing or about to commit a felony involving physical force or violence.

Branch pointed out that Langstaff was at his own residence when a pair of masked suspects carried out a planned robbery at his neighbor’s apartment. “What else needs to be proved?” she asked of jurors. Further, he had a choice to make in that moment: shoot, or let someone take his life.

Langstaff’s actions following the shooting, she added, were poor decisions made out of fear.

Prosecutors: Shooting not justified

Prosecutors argued that evidence didn’t support justification for shooting at the robbers, as they fired no shots compared to Langstaff’s five. Further, a female who was in the adjacent apartment at the time of the robbery testified that the suspects ran away once they had collected their loot. Additionally, the 16-year-old was wearing a sock on his hand and not armed.

As for Langstaff’s elusive actions after the shooting, “There is no deception when it’s self-defense,” Deputy Prosecutor Todd Turner said, adding, “The victims didn’t deserve to be shot in the back.”

9th East Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner would later urge jurors to strike the possibility that the robbers were “committing or about to commit” a violent felony, because the robbery had already happened. Turner also pointed to evidence showing the spent shell casings were scattered — an indication that Langstaff was instead pursuing the robbers.

Ending his final arguments, Turner said that Langstaff’s account that he shot with his eyes closed was a far-fetched claim. “He landed five body shots on two victims with his eyes closed?”

Sentencing set for Friday

The jury — consisting of 10 whites, two blacks and an equal balance of men and women — began deliberating by mid-afternoon and delivered its verdicts shortly after 5:30 p.m.

By the time Thursday’s proceedings neared a climax the trial had attracted about two dozen spectators, mostly law enforcement involved in the investigation and relatives of the victims. A small group of Langstaff’s relatives were also in attendance.

Circuit Judge Blake Batson instructed those sitting in the gallery to keep their calm as he read the jury’s verdict. Moments after it was read, one person related to a victim left the courtroom sobbing.

Jurors will begin deliberations during the sentencing phase Friday morning. Langstaff faces up to 30 years in prison for the single charge of second-degree murder.

Check back Friday for updates as arkadelphian.com will continue coverage of this trial.