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Revocation of previous suspended sentence upheld, court says Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A Sebastian County circuit judge was correct in ruling that Gary Nixon Jr. violated the terms of his five-year suspended sentence when he was charged with a variety of felonies, including capital murder. "We uphold the trial court's finding by a preponderance of the evidence that (Nixon) inexcusably failed to comply with the terms and conditions of his suspended sentence," Judge Robert J. Gladwin wrote in the unanimous decision. Nixon was convicted in 2004 of terroristic threatening in the first degree and sentenced to one-year in jail followed by a five-year suspended sentence. He was released from jail in 2005. In December 2006, Nixon was arrested and charged with capital murder, two counts of attempted capital murder, two counts of aggravated assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm and criminal use of a prohibited weapon. He was accused of firing a sawed-off shotgun at two police officers who were trying to arrest him. Olivia "Lib" Stewart, 41, who was visiting a nearby apartment, was killed in the resulting shoot-out. The shootout occurred just minutes after a separate incident in which Nixon allegedly pointed his weapon at a man and then at a police officer who was called to the scene. While in jail awaiting trial on the murder charge, prosecutors filed a motion asking that Nixon's five-year suspended sentence be revoked because of the latest charges. Circuit Judge Norman Wilkinson granted the motion. Nixon appealed, arguing there wasn't sufficient evidence to uphold the revocation of his suspended sentence. In Wednesday's ruling, Gladwin said shooting at the officers violated numerous laws. "Furthermore, (Nixon) was in possession of a firearm," Gladwin continued. "These are violations of the terms and conditions of his suspended sentence based on his 2004 conviction and provided the basis for the trial court's revocation of his suspended sentence." Nixon later pleaded guilty to the charges surrounding the deadly shootout. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison for first-degree murder, 15 years each for two counts of attempted capital murder and six years each for two counts of aggravated assault, the firearm count and the prohibited count. In another ruling, the Court of Appeals upheld Sebastian County Circuit Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh's decision to revoke Tommy L. Allen Jr.'s suspended sentences for multiple crimes after he was charged with aggravated robbery within 10 days of his release from prison. |
