Community involvement commended by many
“Last night when I was talking to Officer (Kevin) Apple’s mother, I thanked her for letting me be a part of his story,” Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson said during a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 14. Saying he hadn’t known Apple, he added that learning about him made him wish he had known him.
“I’m so honored and humbled to be able to fight for Kevin,” he said. “We’ve learned that he was spending time doing the kinds of things we hope law enforcement would do — checking in on elderly people in the community, helping out homeless people, giving people rides, giving people money — the type of person we want looking out for our community, keeping us safe and, frankly, the type of person that is willing to standing between the violent criminal and the rest of the community behind him.
“And, it ended up in his own death — heroic is an understatement.”
Robinson was joined by Benton County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bryan Sexton, Rogers Police Chief Jonathan Best, Pea Ridge Police Chief Lynn Hahn, Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway and Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Gabriel Stultz at the press conference in the Benton County Courthouse.
“The jury, I think, did a really good job. They were very thoughtful, very deliberate; they took their time. I think they came to the decision they came to on their own… it was a difficult decision whether to sentence a 25-year-old girl to death. We always knew that would be difficult,” he said. “Anybody that doesn’t realize the weight of that hasn’t been in the room having to decide that or ask for it.”
“I had hoped for a different sentence,” Robinson said, referring to the life imprisonment without parole sentence handed down by the jury on Feb. 13, for Shawna Cash, found guilty of killing Pea Ridge Police Officer
Kevin Apple.
“I have no complaints about the jury, the way they conducted themselves. I’m proud of them for doing an honest evaluation of the evidence and being fair to both sides,” Robinson said.
He said her age and her turbulent, trouble childhood seemed to be factors in the jury’s decision.
He said there are no women on death row in Arkansas and very few in America.
“Chief Hahn has attended every single hearing that we’ve had, every day of trial for the past two and a half years. They (Pea Ridge Police officers) have been incredibly gracious and understanding through the process. It takes longer than you want it to,” Robinson said.
“They all were at peace with the fact that we tried a good case. We showed the jury what happened and who Miss Cash is to the best of our ability,” he said.
“All of these people who worked on this investigation … just like Kevin Apple … they’re the ones who deserve any sort of recognition for the time and attention and care that they put into it is really incredible.”
“Another thing that was unique to me,” Robinson said, “is the community involvement, the amount of civilians who responded in the moment.”
“They jury saw surveillance videos of Kevin Apple being killed and listened to 911 calls and what you could see is not one or two, but several community members who were shopping or getting gas or driving down the road or getting a drink at Sonic and they hear squealing tires and they hear gunshots and they run to Kevin Apple and they surround him and they sit with him and they care for him.
“I’ve never seen anything anything like that!
“Additionally, there were other people who saw it from their vehicles and they chased her,” he said, referring to one person driving a tow truck and another who had his children in the car but each followed her and stayed on the phone with dispatch communicating her location to law enforcement.
“The amount of community involvement in this case speaks volumes to the kind of community we have … I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been very, very impressed by that,” Robinson said.
He also wanted to recognize the people at the scene who rushed to Apple’s side to help him and the two drivers who followed and chased Cash while giving dispatchers the directions to help police catch her.
“We’re very pleased with the verdict of capitol murder in this case,” said Chief Hahn. “Although some were disappointed that she didn’t gt the death penalty, we are very happy that she’s been sent to prison for the rest of her life and will never see the light of day again.
“Our community has been there with us even before this happened, but even more so after the incident and have stood behind us all they way. I am super proud of our community and our officers,” Hahn said. “I really want to thank the prosecutor’s office, the Benton County Sheriff ’s Office, Bella Vista Police Department, Rogers Police Department, Arkansas State Police — every one who participated in this case.”
Apple and Brian Stamps, then a Pea Ridge police officer, heard a dispatch about 11:30 a.m. June 26, 2021, to be on the lookout for a Jeep fleeing from Rogers police. They spotted the Jeep at the White Oak Station in Pea Ridge, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Stamps stopped his patrol vehicle behind the Jeep, and Apple stopped his car in front of the Jeep.
Cash hit Stamps’ vehicle, then sped forward and hit Apple, who got caught under the vehicle. Stamps testified he fired four shots at the Jeep after seeing Apple underneath it.
Cash was later apprehended by a Bella Vista police officer after she crashed the Jeep and fled into the woods.
Elijah Andazola, 21, of Bentonville was a passenger in the Jeep with Cash. He is charged with accomplice to capital murder and fleeing. He previously pleaded innocent, and prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
His jury trial is scheduled to begin March 5.
Robinson said he could not comment much on Andazola’s case.