Candidate sentenced to community service

Roderick Talley, an independent candidate seeking a Little Rock-area seat in the state House of Representatives, was sentenced to community service Friday after being found guilty earlier in the week of violating a protective order.

The misdemeanor conviction does not impact Talley’s ability to seek or be elected to office; however, it is one of several criminal cases in which the candidate is a defendant.

Talley, 32, was found guilty Tuesday of violating a domestic order of protection brought against him by a 27-year-old Little Rock woman.

A second misdemeanor charge of harassing communications in the same case was dropped.

Talley said Friday that he was appealing the conviction for violating the protective order.

“I didn’t go around and do anything to anyone,” Talley said, claiming that the charge stemmed from social media posts.

A police incident report on the case was not made available Friday by the Little Rock District Court.

District Judge Melanie Martin agreed to Talley’s request to have a $250 fine and court costs converted into community service.

Talley also was given a one-year suspended jail sentence and ordered not to have any contact with the woman.

Talley will compete March 3 against the winner of Tuesday’s runoff election in the Democratic primary for House District 34.

In addition to the Little Rock case, Talley faces several felony charges in Cross County, which he said Friday resulted from a pressure campaign by law enforcement that he claimed is a response to his activism against police misconduct.

If convicted of any of the felony charges, Talley could be denied a seat in the state Legislature.