A Texarkana man accused of running over and killing his wife while under the influence of methamphetamine appeared before a Miller County judge Tuesday.
Lucas Connor McCarley, 35, has been in jail since his arrest March 3 in connection with the death of his wife, Casey McCarley. Circuit Judge Brent Haltom appointed Matt Stephens, a public defender who serves Miller and Lafayette Counties, to represent Lucas McCarley because his private attorney, Butch Dunbar of Texarkana, has withdrawn from the case.
Earlier this year Haltom scheduled the case for a November trial. Lucas McCarley’s case is now set for a jury trial in March.
Lucas McCarley was allegedly attempting to avoid a confrontation with his wife near midnight March 3 when he struck and drove over her on Miller County Road 22. Lucas McCarley was in the company of another woman and in possession of meth and drug paraphernalia at the time, a probable cause affidavit alleges.
When deputies with the Miller County Sheriff’s Office arrived, Casey McCarley was already deceased and her body was draped in a blue tarp in the roadway. When officers took a cursory look in Lucas McCarley’s truck they allegedly saw drug paraphernalia and usable narcotics in plain view.
Lucas McCarley is charged with negligent homicide, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Miller County prosecutors have included notices of enhancement on each of the charges because of Lucas McCarley’s prior felony convictions for burglary and theft for which he was serving terms of probation.
Prosecutors have filed motions to revoke McCarley’s probations alleging failure to report, failure to pay court ordered monies, failure to abstain from drug use and a subsequent offense.
Lucas McCarley faces five to 30 years if convicted of negligent homicide with prior felonies. The meth and paraphernalia charges are punishable by up to 12 years.
