Killed 3 at wheel, man gets 90 years

PARIS — A Paris man was sentenced to 90 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty in the deaths of a man and his two young sons in a fiery headon collision last year.

Following the recommendation of a Logan County Circuit Court jury, Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey sentenced Eric Thompson, 33, to the maximum 30 years on each of three counts of negligent homicide. He ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

Prosecuting Attorney Tom Tatum II told the jury in closing arguments regarding sentencing that it was possible Thompson could serve only one-sixth of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to state law. He said if Thompson was sentenced to 90 years, he could serve as little as 15 years.

“I don’t feel 15 years is excessive,” Tatum told jurors. “I feel it’s not enough.”

Thompson was charged in the Aug. 22, 2013, deaths of James Lee Sr., 33, and his sons, Caleb Campbell, 12, and James Lee Jr., 8, all of Paris.

The state introduced documents to the jury showing that Thompson’s blood alcohol level at the time of the collision was 0.15 percent. In Arkansas, a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated.

Tests also showed that he had oxycodone and cannabis in his blood, according to the prosecution.

The state also introduced documentation of two previous felony convictions against Thompson for possession of oxycodone and theft by threat and a charge of driving while intoxicated in June 2013 for which his driver’s license was suspended.

Tatum said Thursday that he was surprised by Thompson’s sudden decision to plead guilty. He said he had arrived at the courthouse expecting a three-day trial but learned that Thompson wanted to change his plea and let the jury decide his sentence.

The jury of nine women and three men heard testimony and arguments Thursday only regarding the sentence Thompson should receive.

The state called witnesses who briefly described the events surrounding the accident on Arkansas 309 north of Paris. Public Defender John Irwin had only a few questions for the first witness but otherwise did not cross-examine the seven state witnesses who testified.

Jurors also heard from two family members, James Lee Sr.’s sister Tammy Schneider and his widow, Michelle Lee.

Lee lashed out at Thompson from the witness stand, telling him his stupid decision to drink and drive had taken her life from her. She said she goes home every day to an empty house, no longer has a husband with whom to share her life and won’t have any grandchildren.

“As a Christian, I have to forgive you.” she said. “And the closest you will get to hell is when you were burning in that car,” referring Thompson’s entrapment in his burning pickup after the accident. “I hope you remember that pain.”

Thompson sobbed at the defense table.

Taking the witness stand, Thompson tearfully apologized to Lee’s family. He said he went through over and over what he could say to the family to convey his regret. He said he will suffer for what he did for the rest of his life.

“I decided to plead guilty so maybe my apology will seem sincere,” he said.

On cross-examination by Tatum, Thompson said he was on the highway that day to test a drive shaft in his 1996 Dodge pickup. He couldn’t say why he decided to drive so fast.

Witnesses testified that they were northbound on Arkansas 309 when they saw the Dodge pickup speed up from behind and pass several vehicles in a no-passing zone on a curve in the long flat stretch of highway.

One of those motorists, James Armstrong of Fort Smith, who works for the U.S. Forest Service Job Corps, said he thought it was strange that after passing several vehicles, the northbound pickup continued in the southbound lane and didn’t move back to the northbound lane.

Stephen Griffin of Ozark, an Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative employee who was driving a bucket truck north, said he watched the pickup in his rearview mirror catch up to his truck. The vehicles were almost even when he noticed the southbound 2006 Chevrolet driven by Lee. There was no time for either driver to avoid the collision, he said.

Both vehicles went off the west side of the highway and caught fire. The Chevrolet overturned. James Lee Sr. was crushed inside while the two boys were flung out of the vehicle by the force of the crash. All three died at the scene.

Michael Dunkel of Ozark, another Arkansas Valley Electric employee who was driving behind Griffin, said he and others who stopped after the crash responded to Thompson’s screams, ran over to the pickup and tried to pull him out as the pickup began to burn. But he was stuck in the cab.

“He was literally burning in front of me,” Dunkel said.

Finally, Thompson was able to free himself and fell out of the pickup.

Thompson testified that he suffered a broken neck, back and leg; head injury; and burns. He spent three weeks in the hospital, several days of it in a coma, he said.