News

TWO ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN LINCOLN COUNTY

By John Whipple/LINCOLN COUNTY CORRESPONDENT
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:37 PM CST

STAR CITY — Two people were sentenced following plea arrangements recently in Lincoln County Circuit Court.

Rodney A. Phillips, 22, of Star City, pleaded guilty Tuesday in court to felony second-degree domestic battery for allegedly beating his grandmother in August. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Phillip Green said Phillips also received a concurrent six-year term in the Arkansas Department of Correction for violating the terms of his probation for a felony possession of a controlled substance conviction in May 2007.

Phillips’ arrest

Star City Patrolman Jerry Bates arrested Phillips on Aug. 22 after responding to a report of a fight. Bates found Phillips’ 73-year-old grandmother bloodied and bruised sitting in the back doorway of her home.

In another court action, Linda F. Ramsay, 36, the former Gould court clerk charged with theft of property in 2006, Thursday received five years probation and 180 days in a regional correctional facility following her guilty plea. Green said Ramsay also has paid $16,066 in restitution to the city of Gould.

Fugitive status

Ramsay was a fugitive for nearly three years before she was arrested at a traffic stop in O’Fallon, Ill., in January.

Ramsay had opened an unauthorized bank account in Dumas by using a forged resolution from the city council, Green said.

According to state Legislative Audit Committee records, Ramsay allegedly spent at least $16,066 from the account for personal use between September and October 2005, Green said.

He also said she used the money for “multiple paychecks, bills paid, checks cashed, all kinds of things.”

The account was discovered Oct. 25, 2005, when Ramsay tried to cash a check from the account at a North Little Rock Walmart.

Print this story   |   Email this story