Kendrick Barton, accused in the 2004 murder of James H. "Booger Red" Cummings, has been sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections with 20 of those years suspended.
Barton, one of four charged in the murder, was 15 at the time of the crime and was initially sentenced to the Arkansas Department of Youth Services. Barton will turn 21 in November and a hearing in the case was heard Wednesday in Nevada County Circuit Court before Judge Duncan Culpepper.
DYS and a defense attorney petitioned Culpepper to release Barton with three years probation.
The hearing was initially set for 11 a.m. but was postponed to 1:30 to give attorneys time to read documents associated with the sentencing. The judgment was handed down just after 6:30 p.m.
Among those to take the stand during Wednesday’s hearing was Arkansas State Police Detective Scott Clark. Clark said Barton had first been questioned about the Nevada County murder after the murder of an Arkadelphia woman. Under questioning, Clark said that Barton’s admission and information had sped the cases to conclusion.
Representatives of the DYS described Barton as a model “client,” saying that he’d had only minor infractions during his term of almost two years in the Demott facility. However, Nevada County Prosecutor Ashley Parker pointed out that Barton had incurred those minor infractions at a rate of at least one for almost every month in detention, had six infractions in one month and was cited for two major infractions.
Following the testimonies in the case, Barton addressed the audience. He told the Cummings family that he was sorry and that he’d gladly trade places with Cummings, given the opportunity. Barton went on to say that Cummings was a better man than he’d ever be. He pleaded for a chance to prove that he was rehabilitated and could become a constructive member of society.
He then turned his attention to his parents and cried as he said, “I’m sorry, daddy.”
Culpepper, in describing the reasons for the sentence, said that Barton had not followed the rules of the detention center but added that many of those rules represent very minor offenses, such as having boots untied. Culpepper then went on to say that his bigger concern was that DYS had presented an “after-care plan” for Barton. The terms of that plan depended greatly on DYS services. Culpepper said that, if released from DYS, Barton would be turned over to adult probation services in Clark County on his 21st birthday, making the DYS plan moot.
Barton was returned to the custody of DYS to await a formal court order transferring him to the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
See the full story in the Nov. 4 edition of the Nevada County Picayune.
