PLEA OF NOT GUILTY ENTERED FOR PB LAWYER

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

A not guilty plea was entered Thursday for a Pine Bluff attorney facing criminal charges of acting improperly while acting as a special judge in Jefferson County Circuit Court earlier this year.

Donald E. Warren Sr., 43, is accused of second-degree forgery, a Class C felony, abuse of office, a Class B misdemeanor, and criminal attempt theft of property valued at $500 or less, also a Class B misdemeanor, following an investigation by the Arkansas State Police in September.

Warren is the founding partner of the Warren Law Firm, and was a former candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives in the May Democratic primary.

During a brief court hearing Thursday afternoon, attorney Jesse Kearney, who is representing Warren, entered the plea on Warren’s behalf, and also waived any further arraignment.

The hearing was conducted by retired Pulaski County Judge John Plegge, who signed the arrest warrant. Plegge was appointed as special judge to hear the case after all of the judges in Jefferson County withdrew, citing the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The hearing had been scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., but started 45 minutes later when Warren and Kearney appeared, telling Plegge that Kearney had previously filed a waiver of arraignment and they didn’t know they were required to be in court.

In the meantime, Little Rock attorney Ron Davis, who had filed paperwork with the court on Oct. 15 indicating he had been hired to represent Warren, arrived and after a brief conference with the judge, spoke to both Warren and Kearney before the hearing began.

When Warren arrived, he told the court that Davis did not represent him, and Davis explained that there had been a “misunderstanding and miscommunication between Mr. Warren and myself.”

Warren and Kearney left the courtroom after the hearing without speaking to reporters.

The state police investigation alleged that Warren, after he was sworn in as special judge in the First Division of Circuit Court on July 16, committed forgery when he signed a court order authorizing the release of a mowing deck to him without authorization.

After signing the fraudulent court order, Warren filed that order with the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk, then had it delivered by a process server to the Money Corner Pawn Shop on Ohio Street, where the mowing deck was located, the court filing said.

Further, Warren ordered the sheriff’s office to assist in releasing the property if the owner of the pawn shop did not comply with the court order.

After being booked into the county detention center in September, Warren was released on his own recognizance and Deputy Prosecutor Maxie Kizer, who represented the state during the brief hearing, told Plegge he had no problem continuing that because Warren was also “an officer of the court.”

Regarding a possible trial date to hear the case, Kizer told the judge he would check with the case coordinator in First Division Circuit Court, where the case was assigned, and then contact both Plegge and Kearney with several possible options.