Other days
100 YEARS AGO Sept. 9, 1921
■ When detectives Moore and Hooter forced two automobile thieves to run a Ford roadster into a ditch on Pulaski Heights at 6:30 o’clock last night, the thieves leaped out and fled to the woods. E. M. Allen, owner of bloodhounds, hurried to the scene, and after carrying the trail for more than two hours, located the home of one of the thieves, although the youth was already gone. The dogs followed the trail over a large section of the heights and were only about 30 minutes behind. The police secured the woods, but no arrests had been made at midnight.
50 YEARS AGO Sept. 9, 1971
JONESBORO — A suit asking $150,000 in damages has been filed in Federal District Court here against three law enforcement officers by the estate of Merle Morgan, 33, of near Harrisburg, who died September 2, 1969, in the Poinsett County Jail at Harrisburg. Named as defendants in the suit, filed by Floyd Morgan as administrator of his son’s estate, were Sheriff Ray Holmes, of Poinsett County, Deputy Sheriff Johnny Henderson, and State Trooper Joe Martz. The suit alleges that Merle Morgan was arrested by Martz and Henderson, and that after he was taken to the jail, “an altercation occured in the process of which gross and excessive force was applied to Merle Morgan,” It alleged that he was “bludgeoned” and died from the injuries.
25 YEARS AGO Sept. 9, 1996
BENTONVILLE — A murder-for-hire conspiracy charge was dropped against a man after prosecutors determined that he dropped his “contract” on a sheriff without realizing his hit man was an undercover cop. Erich Silvestain, 28, of the Logan community, was arrested in April and accused of conspiring to have Benton County Sheriff Andy Lee killed. The charge was dropped when it turned out he had canceled the contract. He still was charged Wednesday with possessing an instrument of crime. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to a year’s unsupervised probation. On April 1, Silvestain drew the attention of a Fayetteville hotel manager when he checked in, carrying a Chinese assault rifle.
10 YEARS AGO Sept. 9, 2011
■ CONWAY — Gov. Mike Beebe said Thursday that it was an “intentional misrepresentation” to call food vendor Aramark’s $700,000 offer to the University of Central Arkansas a gift when it would have been in exchange for a renewed contract. Contention over the matter led Allen C. Meadors to resign last Friday from the UCA presidency, one week after board of trustees Chairman Scott Roussel announced that Aramark was donating $700,000 to renovate the university-owned president’s house. Neither Meadors nor Roussel mentioned during an Aug. 26 board meeting that the money was tied to renewal of Aramark’s contract, though they acknowledged last week that they had been aware of the contingency. Both apologized and suggested the omission was an honest mistake.