A jury was chosen in Miller County Tuesday morning to decide the fate of a man accused of burglarizing Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson’s Texarkana home last year.
Lawrence Hubbard, 40, is facing up to 40 years in prison if found guilty of participating in a string of burglaries March 21, 2014. Hubbard has already plead guilty to his role in several residential break-ins in Texarkana, Texas which occurred the same day but won’t admit he had anything to do with stealing guns and jewelry from Judge Johnson’s house in Texarkana, Ark.
Six men and six women were selected Tuesday morning to settle the issue. Opening arguments and testimony began in the afternoon.
Stephanie Parker, a 34-year-old Texarkana woman, testified that Hubbard asked her to drive him and two accomplices around wealthy neighborhoods on the morning of March 21, 2014. Parker said she kept watch while Hubbard and two others broke into houses and stole jewelry and other easy-to-carry objects.
Parker said Johnson’s house was the first hit of the day and was followed by stops at homes in Texarkana, Texas. Hubbard was arrested fleeing from a house in Texarkana, Texas on North Park Road. Willie Powell and Lamarcus Lavigne were arrested in the same area a short time later. Parker was not immediately charged. Powell and Lavigne are in Texas custody and haven’t yet faced charges in connection with the burglary of Judge Johnson’s house.
Hubbard’s trial is expected to last two or three days.
