The first of three suspects charged in connection with the September 2021 armed robbery and kidnapping of a local woman was sentenced to a total of 88 years in prison Friday after a four-day trial in Garland County Circuit Court.
Cameron Morris Whitworth, 32, of Houston in Perry County, was found guilty of felony charges of aggravated robbery with a firearm enhancement, kidnapping, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by certain persons, and a misdemeanor count of theft of property at the conclusion of a trial that began Tuesday and was hampered by the weather, Deputy Prosecutor Caitlin Bornhoft told The Sentinel-Record on Friday.
Bornhoft, who prosecuted the case along with Deputy Prosecutor Brock Price, said the jury deliberated about 80 minutes during the guilt portion on the first three felony charges and the misdemeanor charge and briefly after a separate bifurcated hearing on the latter felony charge for possession.
After deliberating for about 70 minutes, the jury recommended a sentence of 30 years on the aggravated robbery, the maximum of 15 years on the firearm enhancement, 15 years on each of the kidnapping and possession of a firearm charges, 12 years on the aggravated assault and one year in jail for the theft.
Bornhoft noted Whitworth will have to serve 70% of the sentences on the robbery and enhancement charges and "day for day" on the possession of a firearm charge which adds up to over 50 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
"He's 32 now so he will be in his 80s before he gets out," she said, noting the jury didn't specify whether the sentences should run concurrent or consecutive, but Judge Marcia Hearnsberger ruled to run them consecutive.
The cases for Whitworth's two alleged accomplices, Andrea Marie Burciaga, 40, of Malvern, and Kaylee Shantae Harris, 21, of Hot Springs, who face the same charges, are still pending. Additional charges against Whitworth stemming from two arrests that happened after his release on a $500,000 bond from the September 2021 incident are also pending.
Whitworth was arrested on Nov. 8, 2022, in Saline County on drug charges and for possession of a firearm by certain persons and on Nov. 29, 2022, in Garland County following a high-speed pursuit where his wife, Sidney Michelle Whitworth, 28, of Little Rock, was driving. Their vehicle was eventually forced off the road by Arkansas State Police.
Bornhoft said the officer from Saline County testified during sentencing along with Hot Springs police and the trooper from the pursuit in Garland County. A back seat passenger in the pursuit also testified about Whitworth's activities in the 48 hours before the incident when he "had guns on him the whole time and was doing drugs, including acid" and that Whitworth was the one who encouraged his wife not to stop and to flee from the police.
"The sentencing hearing was unique because usually they are focused on the victim, but a lot of the testimony was about (Whitworth) as to what kind of person he is," she said.
The trial was also unique from another perspective. "We started this trial in the midst of inclement weather Tuesday morning, broke early that day due to ice, started up on a delay Wednesday morning due to ice and weather, and had a somewhat unpredictable schedule, so we really want to express our appreciation to the jurors for their dedication to the case and patience throughout this week," Bornhoft said. "I really didn't think we would get finished."
According to the probable cause affidavit for the 2021 incident, on Sept. 23, shortly after 3:30 a.m., a local woman came to the police department to file a complaint alleging she had been robbed and kidnapped by two known suspects, Whitworth and Burciaga, and a second female she didn't know at the time, later identified as Harris, who was dating Whitworth.
She said earlier that day she was at a residence on Arbor Street visiting a female friend and Burciaga was there. She noted she and Burciaga were friends, but Burciaga was mad at her because she thought she had cremated remains that belonged to her.
As the two were arguing about the ashes, Whitworth, whom she had also known for "many years," and Harris walked in. She said Whitworth struck her in the back of her head with the butt of a pistol and Harris punched her in the face.
She said at one point Whitworth put the barrel of a rifle in her mouth and asked "if she was ready to die." She said during this time, the three suspects took her phone and some jewelry, including two rings valued at $300.
She said the three of them then forced her into Burciaga's silver Nissan Altima and were going to take her to the victim's house to look for the ashes. She said they told her if the ashes were not found she would "only leave the house in a box."
While on the way there, they stopped at an E-Z Mart where Whitworth got into an altercation with someone. At that point, the suspects told the victim they were going to let her go "for now" but that she better have the ashes later that day.
She said they then dropped her off back on Arbor Street and gave her phone back, but not the jewelry. The victim had reportedly never met Whitworth's girlfriend before, but was able to show officers her Facebook page and confirmed she was the one who had punched her and she was subsequently identified as Harris.
Burciaga was arrested on Sept. 23, Whitworth on Sept. 24 and Harris sometime later in another state.
According to court records, Whitworth was previously convicted in Garland County on March 14, 2017, of possession of drug paraphernalia and sentenced to four years' supervised probation. On Aug. 14, 2017, he was convicted again of possession of drug paraphernalia and sentenced to four years in prison after his probation was revoked. On Oct. 21, 2019, in Perry County, he was convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of meth with purpose to deliver and sentenced to two years in prison, but later paroled.
Cameron Morris Whitworth - Submitted photo