Four of the seven suspects charged in connection with the death of a local man whose body was found dumped in Greenwood Cemetery in October were arraigned Monday in Garland County Circuit Court, while a fifth reportedly failed to appear.
A zero bond bench warrant for failure to appear was issued Monday for James Dean Keyser III, 27, who is charged with tampering with physical evidence, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison, in connection with the death of Corey Richardson, 31, whose body was found Oct. 23 next to the cemetery's main entrance at 701 Greenwood Ave.
Keyser, who was charged for his alleged part in disposing of Richardson's body and covering up evidence, was released on $10,000 bond shortly after his arrest Nov. 24 and a bond forfeiture hearing is now set for April 9.
Also charged with tampering with physical evidence were Jake Lynn Norwood, 28, and Melissa Jere Wineland, 38, who both appeared Monday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Norwood, who was also charged with a probation violation and a previous failure to appear at the time of his arrest Nov. 5, remained in custody Monday in lieu of $75,000 bond.
Wineland, who was also charged with multiple felony drug charges at the time of her arrest Oct. 24, has been free on $20,000 bond since Dec. 27. She had initially failed to appear Monday at the start of her arraignment, but she reportedly showed up later to enter her plea and a bench warrant that had been issued for her arrest was withdrawn.
Steven Wayne Wood, 42, who is charged with first-degree murder, punishable by up to life in prison, and hindering apprehension or prosecution, punishable by up to 20 years, in connection with Richardson's death pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday. He has remained in custody in lieu of $500,000 bond since his arrest on Nov. 15.
Stephanie Ann Shell, 21, who was arrested at the same time as Wood and charged with hindering apprehension, pleaded not guilty to the charge Monday. She has remained in custody since her arrest in lieu of $50,000 bond.
A gag order, limiting pretrial publicity in connection with the case, was issued by Judge Marcia Hearnsberger for each of the four suspects Monday. All four are now set to appear again for a disposition hearing on March 19.
Two previously convicted felons, John Patrick Walker, 42, and Donald Franklin Williams, 55, are each charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by certain persons in Richardson's death.
Walker was apprehended Dec. 19 by Hot Springs police SWAT team members and remained in custody Monday in lieu of $150,000 bond. He was arraigned via video Dec. 20 in Garland County District Court and a felony review hearing to determine if the charge will be bound over to circuit court is set for Feb. 5 in district court.
Williams was arrested Dec. 30 in Rockwall, Texas, and his extradition back to Hot Springs is still pending.
According to previous affidavits, Richardson was killed or severely wounded at 106 N. Patterson St., Wineland's residence, and transported by car to the cemetery. Police later reportedly found blood in the car and at the residence.
After Wineland's arrest, she allegedly stated she and Keyser took Richardson's body to the cemetery after other suspects caused his injuries.
According to witnesses, on the afternoon of Oct. 22, Richardson used a counterfeit $100 bill to pay Wood for meth, which Wood got from Williams. Later that same day, Williams allegedly arrived at the house, angry at Wood for accepting the counterfeit bill, and told Wood to locate Richardson and "deal with it," and then left.
On Nov. 6, another witness came forward and alleged Williams and his son-in-law, identified as Walker, came to the North Patterson residence around 3 a.m. armed with handguns and pistol whipped Richardson, knocking him to the floor.
Wood allegedly jumped up and also hit Richardson, who fought his way to his feet and ran toward the kitchen, attempting to make it to the back door. At that time, Williams allegedly raised his gun and shot in Richardson's direction.
Williams and Walker were reportedly the only ones in the kitchen with Richardson at the time, and continued to beat him before a second shot was fired. The witness said Richardson was lying face down on the floor, yelling that he had been shot as Williams and Walker exited the kitchen.
Williams allegedly began cleaning blood off his hands and the gun, then he looked to the witness and Keyser and reportedly said, "y'all better clean this mess up," as he and Walker left the scene.
After they left, Wood allegedly began kicking Richardson in the head, yelling at him to get out of the house, as Richardson reportedly kept saying he was dying.
Richardson reportedly lost consciousness as Wood and Shell dragged him out of the house. They reportedly placed his body behind an abandoned house next door until Wineland arrived with the vehicle used to transport the body.
Local on 01/23/2018