This is a roundup of felony charges filed March 13-27, 2026, by the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office. Some defendants may also have misdemeanor charges against them, but most are not included here. The following names and charges, which are contained within public documents, are gathered from online court records available through ARCourts. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Here’s a rundown of felony cases filed in the past two weeks:
Texas pair steals 18-wheeler, hauls lumber-loaded trailer to Dallas
A load of lumber attached to a parked 18-wheeler was apparently too tempting for a pair of Texan thieves who allegedly stole the loaded trailer and hauled it back to the Lone Star State.
According to a lengthy police affidavit written by Sgt. Rick Loy, detective for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation was opened on Jan. 4, 2026, when police were made aware of an 18-wheeler that had been stolen from a parking lot next to the Casey’s convenience station in Gurdon.
During the investigation police developed Jackie Carl Franklin Jr., 46, of Marshall Texas, as their prime suspect.
The stolen truck, belonging to McElroy Truck Lines, was hauling a trailer loaded with more than $12,000 worth of lumber. The truck was recovered the same day on US Highway 67, about 2 miles south of Gurdon High School. The sheriff’s office was advised the next day that the trailer had been recovered by law enforcement in Dallas County, Texas.
Detectives reviewed video footage from at least three retail establishments as well as in-cab footage from the trucking company. Footage showed the stolen 18-wheeler traveling south on Highway 67, followed by an extended cab Chevrolet pickup truck. A surveillance camera farther south of town caught the pair traveling together, but with the lumber trailer being hauled by a different tractor-trailer.
Cab footage showed a white male breaking into the cab and hot-wiring the ignition. The police affidavit alleges that Franklin was on the phone with an accomplice — later identified as Joe Roberson, of Irving, Texas — as he was tampering with the ignition.
Detectives obtained search warrants for cell phone tower records to narrow their leads, discovering two numbers communicating with each other during the time of the theft. Search warrants were then obtained for those two phone numbers, allowing police to identify Franklin and Roberson as owners of those phones.
Results from the search warrants revealed that the pair had been communicating with each other for 244 minutes around the time of the theft. Cell towers pinged their GPS as they traveled from Gurdon to Interstate 30 via the Okolona entrance, and the phone data traced them as they traveled west on I-30 to the Dallas area.
Clark County investigators learned from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles that Franklin owned a pickup that matched the one seen in the video in Gurdon, and a check of his address on Google Maps showed that same pickup parked under a carport.
Franklin is charged with Theft of Property valued greater than $25,000, a Class B felony punishable by 5-20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $15,000; two counts of Theft of Property valued between $5,000-$25,000, each count a Class C felony punishable by 3-10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000; Breaking or Entering; and 1st-degree Criminal Mischief causing damages between $1,000-$5,000, each a Class D felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Franklin’s bond was set at $1,500, cash only. He has retained Little Rock attorney Bill James for representation.
To date, Roberson has not been charged in connection with the incident.
Would-be cigar thief becomes robbery suspect
An Arkadelphia man who initially tried shoplifting a box of Black & Mild cigars became a robbery suspect as he got physical with a convenience store manager.
On the morning of Jan. 23, officers with the Arkadelphia Police Department were summoned to Shell, 3111 Pine St., for a complaint that a customer had robbed the place.
Police soon developed 19-year-old Valeto Juan Hendrix as the suspect. The station manager reported a male donning a black ski mask entered the store and stood near the cash register, eventually reaching over the glass divider to grab a box of cigars. The suspect removed a handful and concealed them on his person, then put the box back in its place. Confronted by the station manager, Hendrix initially denied the theft but then handed one pack back, adding he had taken nothing else. Asked then to return all the cigars, Hendrix threw another pack and shoved the station manager, then “acted as if he was going to strike” her. He then exited the store, with the manager trailing behind him. The manager lost sight of the suspect after he ran behind Chicken Express.
Police made contact with Hendrix at his residence on Pine Street. After a brief conversation about the incident, Hendrix was taken into custody and transported to the police station, where he admitted to the theft and to using physical force on the store manager as he fled the store.
Bond was set at $50,000.
Hendrix is facing the charge of Robbery, a Class B felony that carries a prison sentence of 5-20 years and/or a fine of up to $15,000.
Man accused of brandishing firearm at sanitation worker
On the morning of Feb. 9, Arkadelphia police heard a complaint that an individual had flashed a firearm at a sanitation department employee in the area of 26th and Lark Place.
The city employee said he was on the trash truck when it passed by a Toyota Avalon, which turned around and pulled up beside the garbage truck. The victim advised that Anthony Rashae Leeper, was in the passenger seat of the vehicle, which was driven by a female. According to the victim, Leeper leaned forward while holding a black pistol and taunted him with it.
The victim added that Leeper had followed him the previous weekend from a gas station to the Country Club Carwash, where Leeper pulled in behind him and fired three rounds from a gun.A police affidavit notes that Leeper, 31, is romantically involved with the victim’s ex-lover.
Leeper is charged with 2nd-degree Discharging a Firearm from a Car, a Class B felony punishable by 5-20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $15,000; and Aggravated Assault, a Class D felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
His bond was set at $75,000.
Bond for accused kidnapper set at $85,000
Bond was set at $85,000 for a White Hall man accused of kidnapping a woman and their child.
New information released in a police affidavit notes that footage from a Ring doorbell camera showed Sloan drag the female by her hair and slam her to the ground and into a fence, and striking her with his fists.
The victim suffered broken ribs as a result of the attack.
Sloan is charged with Kidnapping, a Class B felony punishable by 5-20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $15,000; 2nd-degree Domestic Battering, a Class C felony punishable by 3-10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000; and 1st-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of up to 6 years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Bond set at $100,000 for man who fled police, struck sheriff’s vehicle
Bond was set at $100,000 for a Central Arkansas man who fled Arkadelphia police in a stolen vehicle, striking the county sheriff’s vehicle and another motorist during the incident.
New information released in a police affidavit notes that Arras drove in the oncoming traffic lane for most of the pursuit before he crashed. Several cars had to leave the roadway to avoid being struck, the affidavit states.
A search of the vehicle yielded 3.7 grams of methamphetamine.
Fleeing suspect leads police to his home
An Arkadelphia man who fled from law enforcement led police straight to his home.
Jordan Tyrone Beard, 25, faces a felony charge of Fleeing.
On March 19, a Clark County deputy observed a motorist with an obstruction hanging from rearview mirror, and a check of the vehicle’s license plate through a criminal database revealed that the vehicle was uninsured.
A traffic stop was initiated near 12th and Main streets, where Beard pulled onto the shoulder but then sped away. The pursuit reached speeds of 60 mph to Beard’s residence on South Austin Street, where Beard was instructed to exit the vehicle and follow the deputy’s instructions. He complied and was placed into custody without incident.
A search of the vehicle yielded a marijuana cigar and a THC vape, as well as a fully loaded AR-15 rifle in the trunk.
Beard told police he fled because he was smoking marijuana and wasn’t licensed to drive.
He’s charged with Fleeing, a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 3-10 years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Bond was set at $30,000.
Narcotics agents nab pedestrian, find meth
An Arkadelphia man faces felony drug charges following a run-in with Group 6 Narcotics agents.
Joshua James Bromley, 41, was arrested March 9.
An affidavit notes that narcotics agents saw Bromley walking on Hunter Street, where they attempted to speak with him but he refused to stop. As the agents learned that Bromley had a warrant for his arrest, he proceeded to run toward 14th Street, where a deputy sheriff stopped and arrested him.
A search of his person revealed two broken glass pipes and one functioning pipe, as well as a plastic bag containing methamphetamine weighing less than 2 grams.
Bromley is charged with Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance, a Class D felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
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