Plea change hearing set for ex-deputy in beating
FORT SMITH — Former Crawford County sheriff’s deputy Levi White will have a plea change hearing Friday regarding his involvement in the federal deprivation of rights case stemming from a video of three law enforcement officers arresting a man in 2022.
White had been set to stand trial starting May 6. That trial has been canceled, and he is set to appear before Magistrate Judge Mark E. Ford at 10 a.m. Friday for the plea change hearing.
In the viral video, three officers arrest Randal Worcester outside a Kountry Xpress gas station on Aug. 21, 2022. White and fellow former deputy Zackary King appear to hit and kick Worcester while Mulberry police officer Thell Riddle holds him down. A bystander recorded the incident and posted it on social media.
White and King were fired from the sheriff’s office for “excessive use of force” in September 2022. King had worked at the Crawford County sheriff’s office since January 2018. White had worked there since January 2022.
Both men were charged with deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal violation of Title 18 that prohibits anyone representing a government body from depriving someone of their rights listed in the U.S. Constitution. Both former deputies were set to stand trial together, however the men filed a severance of defendants motion, which allowed them to be tried separately.
White and King both pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court on Jan. 24, 2023.
Last week, King changed his plea to guilty and now awaits sentencing. He faces up to one year in prison and an undetermined fine. Riddle did not face charges and has been reinstated to the Mulberry police force.
Worcester, 28, of Goose Creek, S.C., is still set to face trial on charges stemming from the arrest.