State briefs

Arkansas city faces $391,000 shortfall after tax mistake

CAVE SPRINGS — Officials in a northwest Arkansas city say failure to properly authorize collection of property taxes leaves the city facing a $391,000 budget shortfall and possibly eliminating its police department.

Cave Springs City Attorney Justin Eichmann told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

that records don’t clearly show the City Council passed an ordinance authorizing collection of the taxes.

Eichmann said the amount is 23 percent of the city’s $1.7 million budget and he’ll ask either Benton County Circuit Court or the county judge for guidance.

County Attorney George Spence said he thinks the city’s tax will be ruled invalid.

City Mayor Travis says the police department could be eliminated to offset any budget cuts, but Alderwoman Mary Ann Winters said some city administrators could be eliminated instead of the police department.

Arkansas State Police say inmate stabbed state prison guard

BRICKEYS — Arkansas State Police say a state prison guard was stabbed by an inmate at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys.

Trooper Liz Chapman said in an email Sunday that state police are investigating after an inmate used a homemade weapon to stab the guard “an unknown amount of times” from behind on Friday. Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said in an email that the officer was treated at a hospital for minor lacerations and released.

The names of the guard and the inmate and a suspected motive for the attack were not released.

The prison holds minimum to maximum security inmates and is located in Brickeys in eastern Arkansas, about 95 miles east of Little Rock.

Tennessee man killed while crossing interstate

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas State Police say a Tennessee man was killed when he was struck by a car while trying to cross Interstate 30 on foot.

A police report says 20-yearold Christopher Wayne Dufour of Collierville, Tennessee, died in the crash at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

The report says Dufour was trying to cross the interstate when he was struck by an eastbound vehicle. The vehicle was then struck by another eastbound vehicle, but no other injuries are reported.

The report says the weather was clear and the road was dry at the time of the accident.

Ex-Arkansas jailer admits lying to FBI in sex investigation

LITTLE ROCK — A former jail supervisor in Arkansas has admitted to lying to FBI inves-

tigators during a sex abuse investigation.

Online court records show former Pulaski County jail supervisor Scott Hazel pleaded guilty Friday to making a false statement to a federal agency and faces up to five years in prison. As part of a plea agreement, federal prosecutors dropped a charge of sexual abuse and agreed to not oppose probation when Hazel is sentenced.

Hazel admitted he lied when he told investigators he took a federal inmate from her cell to a private office because he was using her as a confidential informant. The original indictment alleges Hazel instead had sex with the woman.

Sheriff’s Lt. Cody Burk told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Hazel resigned in October 2015 while under investigation.