A Texarkana man who was supposed to be in Miller County Circuit Court for sentencing Tuesday morning but failed to show was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.
Charlston Brown, 35, pleaded guilty Monday to engaging in organized criminal activity and to being a felon in possession of a gun as part of a plea bargain that included a 10-year total prison term. Circuit Judge Brent Haltom agreed to let Brown go free on his existing bond Monday and ordered him to return to court this morning for formal sentencing at the request of Texarkana defense lawyer Darren Anderson.
But Brown didn’t show for the 9 a.m. hearing. At about 9:30 a.m., Haltom took the bench and ordered a warrant issue for Brown after Anderson told the court he has not heard from or been able to contact his client. Brown was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon after he turned himself in at the Miller County courthouse.
Brown was charged in connection with a shooting Oct. 5, 2014, at the Race Way gas station and convenience store. A fight that began between two men fighting over a woman quickly grew into a large-scale brawl involving more than 20. During the fight, two men were shot, one of them fatally. Brown was identified by investigators as having handed a pistol to another man that was used during the fight.
Brown was initially on track to receive four and six-year terms to run consecutively for a total 10-year sentence as part of his plea arrangement. Officials at the Miller County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said they intend to ask that Brown’s plea deal be withdrawn. Brown is expected to appear before Haltom on Wednesday.
He faces up to 15 years on each count. Prosecutors may also charge Brown with failure to appear for sentencing, which is punishable by up to 30 years for an offender with multiple prior felony convictions. If sentenced to the maximum on each charge and if the terms are stacked, Brown could receive as many as 60 years in prison.
