Waller trial is in August
A new trial date has been scheduled for Tristen D. Waller, 21, a suspect in the June 5, 2019 shooting death of 27-year-old Brandon Parker.
The trial is currently scheduled for August 2-5, according to Judge Robin Carroll’s court docket for the month of July. His omnibus hearing, where the court will ensure that Waller’s rights to counsel
have been observed and attend to other pre-trial business, is scheduled for July 20.
Both proceedings have been rescheduled multiple times over the past few months.
Waller is facing charges of capital murder and attempted capital murder, along with a firearm penalty enhancement. He was arrested in June 2019 along with co-defendant Chancin Hooks, who is facing the same charges.
Capital murder carries with it the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison.
On June 5, 2019, ProMed Ambulance and officers from the Union County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a location on Strong Highway in reference to two men with gunshot wounds, Parker and Randy Miller, of El Dorado. Parker was already in critical condition at the time emergency personnel arrived and died from his injuries soon after.
Miller was treated for facial injuries and later spoke to police, writing down his responses to investigators’ questions because, at the time, he was unable to speak due to his injuries, according to a police report. According to court records, Miller told police he and Parker had met with Waller and Hooks before the shooting to purchase drugs and were called back to their meeting location after the initial trade, at which time, Miller alleged, the two suspects ambushed them with gunfire, which he returned from the passenger’s seat of Parker’s vehicle.
Confidential tips subsequently led UCSO deputies to arrest Miller on charges of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of a firearm by certain persons, hindering apprehension or prosecution, possession with the purpose of delivering a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence. Miller is also due in court on July 20, where a revocation of his probation will also be considered.
Waller is currently incarcerated at the Union County Detention Center, according to the UCSO Jail roster.
Also scheduled to appear on July 20 is Lovell Govan, 47, of Huttig, who is facing two attempted capital murder charges, four charges of kidnapping, one aggravated assault charge and assorted theft charges.
According to previous reporting, Govan is suspected of holding a woman and her minor daughter hostage and shooting both of them multiple times last August as well as allegedly taking a third person and her minor son hostage a day later when discovered with the initial two victims in their home.
Govan was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana in mid-August 2020.
In March, Govan’s attorney filed a notice of their intent to rely on a defense of mental disease or defect, and exams to determine the defendant’s fitness to proceed and criminal responsibility were ordered in May.
Govan is currently being held at the UCSO Jail, according to the roster.