A Garland County Circuit Court jury only deliberated about 20 minutes late Friday before sentencing a Hot Springs man to a total of 60 years in prison on charges stemming from a 2014 triple shooting in which a local woman died.
The eight-woman, four-man jury had convicted Steven Leroy Swanigan, 33, of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree battery earlier on Friday after about four hours of deliberations following four days of testimony. Swanigan was charged in connection with the April 30, 2014, shooting death of Mayela Mata, 26, and injuries to her 20-month-old daughter and a third victim, Antouin Bond, at Mata's apartment at 200 Springwood Road.
The jury recommended a sentence of 40 years on the murder charge and 10 years each on the two battery counts, all to run consecutively, for a total of 60 years. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham, who represented the state at trial along with Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro, said Monday because Swanigan is classified as a habitual offender with a prior conviction for a serious felony involving violence he would not be eligible for parole on the murder sentence.
"If you get convicted of one of the listed serious felonies involving violence, murder one in this case, and you have a prior conviction for one of those offenses, and Swanigan had a prior conviction for aggravated robbery, the penalty range goes to 40-80 years or life and the statute specifically says no parole eligibility," Graham said, noting Swanigan will have to serve the 40 years "day for day" and the jury was informed of this before their deliberations.
Swanigan could be eligible for parole without serving the full 10 years on each of the battery counts, but only after serving his sentence on the murder charge.
"I am so very thankful for the jurors who served so diligently," Graham said. "I am grateful to my co-counsel Kara Petro and to all of our staff. I am thankful for Judge (John Homer) Wright and all of his staff. I know it sounds weird but I am grateful for the defense attorneys. They serve an important role in our system. I don't know how they can represent people who did such heinous things. I know I could never do that. Mostly I am thankful that the Mata, Scott, and Bond families received justice and I am proud to have played a role in it."
"We are very happy with the sentence," Petro said Monday. "The jury carefully listened to the testimony and considered the evidence."
In her closing remarks to the jury prior to their deliberations on sentencing, Petro said she pointed out "Swanigan came in firing two guns at multiple people. Thank goodness we are not here on three counts of murder. A child had to be flown to (Arkansas) Children's Hospital to be treated for gunshots he inflicted. Now, that child has to grow up without a mother."
Swanigan had been in prison for aggravated robbery, a serious violent prior felony, and "then he gets out and does this. He is a dangerous individual," she said.
Swanigan's alleged accomplice, Benjamin Mickey Pitts, 28, also of Hot Springs, is set to stand trial on the same charges as Swanigan beginning Oct. 23.
Local on 10/17/2017