Second suspect in kidnapping of local teen arraigned
The second of two suspects charged with multiple felonies in connection with the alleged April 19 kidnapping of a 17-yearold Hot Springs girl pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Dayla Diane Ferrer, 20, of Memphis, Tenn., appeared with her attorney, Michael Kaiser with the Lassiter & Cassinelli Law Firm of Little Rock, and pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, rape and aggravated robbery, each punishable by up to life in prison, first-degree battery, punishable by up to 20 years, and first-degree false imprisonment, punishable by up to 10 years, after Judge Ralph Ohm read each of the charges and explained the punishment range.
Her alleged accomplice, Samuel Wayne Bolling Jr., 38, who is reportedly from Nashville, Tenn., was arrested on the same charges as Ferrer and pleaded not guilty to all of them on April 26 at a hearing held in the Garland County Circuit Courtroom at the detention center. Bolling is set to appear again on June 28.
Ferrer, clad in the standard orange detention center jumpsuit, shackled at her wrists and ankles, had sat crying quietly in the jury box until her case was called up. Ohm issued a court order barring Ferrer from any future contact with the victim in the case which Ferrer and Kaiser both signed.
In entering her pleas, Ferrer just answered “yes” to each of Ohm’s questions as to whether she understood the charges and her rights in the case. A hearing to determine the admissibility of any statements she made to Hot Springs police after her arrest is set for July 7.
Kaiser inquired about a motion he entered regarding bond and Ohm said they would address bond at the July 7 hearing.
A gag order was previously issued in the case limiting pretrial publicity, and the charges against Bolling and Ferrer were
filed under seal, so the affidavits in the cases are not available.
After exiting the courtroom, Kaiser noted he couldn’t address the details of the case due to the gag order, but said, “There will come a time when we do get to have the truth come out, whether that’s in the courtroom in front of a jury and we look forward to that day.”
Both Bolling and Ferrer remained in custody Monday in lieu of bonds totaling $1 million each with their cases bound directly over to circuit court shortly after their arrests on April 19 at Bolling’s listed Hot Springs address at 4810 Central Ave., which was a condo they were renting.
A statewide AMBER Alert had been issued for the missing teen the morning of April 19 after she was reportedly abducted around 9:15 p.m. on April 18 from the downtown area after leaving her workplace.
She was found shortly before 3:30 p.m. that same day in the 4700 block of Central Avenue and taken to a local hospital, according to a release from Hot Springs police. Bolling and Ferrer were developed as suspects in her abduction and arrested a short time later.