Other days
100 YEARS AGO Feb. 20, 1919
■ The warehouse of M. J. Siesel & Co., at the foot of Scott street, containing about $60,000 worth of hides, furs, tallow, rubber, and junk, burned last night. The fire was discovered about 8 o’clock, and it was past midnight before the firemen had it under control. Although firemen from four companies arrived soon after the blaze was discovered, they could do little because all entrances to the building were barred with heavy steel network, making it impossible for them to enter. … It is believed the fire started from spontaneous combustion in the basement, where the hides were stored. It is believed it had been smoldering for some time. 50 YEARS AGO
Feb. 20, 1969 FAYETTEVILLE — The Pulaski Business Men’s Association of Little Rock has written University of Arkansas officials objecting to the appearance of former heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay on the campus. Clay, who took the name of Muhammad Ali when he became a Black Muslim, was denied the title when he refused induction into the Army. Clay is scheduled to appear here March 12 with Floyd McKissack, head of the Congress of Racial Equality, under the auspices of “Symposium ’69”, a project of the U of A Student Government Association. In a letter to U of A President David A. Mullins, the Association said that it disapproved of Clay’s appearance and that the persons responsible for inviting him should cancel it. 25 YEARS AGO
Feb. 20, 1994 DEWITT — Five men who escaped Friday from the Arkansas County Jail here remained at large Saturday.
Police say two of the men may have been spotted Friday night at a west Little Rock intersection. According to a notice distributed to Little Rock police officers, Albert Bell, 17, and Golden Thorn III, 19, were possibly sighted at Kanis and John Barrow roads. Police said Bell has relatives at two west Little Rock addresses — one on John Barrow Road. Bell, Thorn and inmates Terry Sims, 17; Dale Sims, 28; and Larry Joe Easley, 42, escaped about 2 a.m. Friday by overpowering a guard, Arkansas County Sheriff Wayne Simpson said. They left the jail in a metallic green 1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, armed with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol and a hunting knife, Simpson said.
10 YEARS AGO Feb. 20, 2009
■ A man who represented himself before a jury on robbery and theft charges won himself another trial after an Arkansas Court of Appeals panel agreed that he hadn’t made a “knowing and intelligent waiver of his right to counsel.” Tyrone Simmons … was convicted in Jefferson County Circuit Court last year and sentenced to two consecutive 30-year terms on each count and fined $5,000. Simmons initially was represented by a public defender, but on the day before the trial, March 12, 2008, Simmons told Circuit Judge Jodi Raines Dennis that he wanted to represent himself, according to an opinion written by Appeals Court Judge M. Michael Kinard. …He acknowledged he would be held to the same accountability as a lawyer even though he wasn’t trained in the law and the Rules of Criminal Procedure. … Dennis warned Simmons that “juries usually get angry about people who represent themselves and feel like they are not making good decisions.”