Last Updated 8/29/23

UPDATE: Trial has been continued. A status hearing is now set for October 25th and jury trail is set tentatively for November 9th. Several of our followers have reached out to us about this case because they believe this to be a political hit job.

It is certainly a strange case to us but folks are very tight lipped about what is actually going on in Johnson County. The question we have is WHO would want Sheriff Stephens out? And why? Was this traffic stop ordered?

If you know the answers to those questions please reach out to us. You can remain anonymous.

OLD ARTICLE BELOW

Stephens is set for a review hearing on June 21st, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in Van Buren and jury trial has been tentatively set for July 28th, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

To date there have been no federal charges filed in connection with this case.

A pretrial hearing was held yesterday (4/4/2023) in Crawford County for Sheriff Jimmy Stephens who is accused of possessing illegal drugs and a firearm during a traffic stop. 

Stephens was pulled over in Crawford County on December 3rd, 2022 and found to have 3 oxycodone pills, 2 hydrocodone pills, a “small amount” of cannabis, and 9 ounces of cannabis butter. He was initially pulled over for speeding but authorities then relayed to the media that they had been directed to initiate a traffic stop by the FBI. 

Stephens had been seen leaving a home that the FBI had been surveilling as part of an investigation. Stephens claimed he was just meeting with confidential informants as part of his job. Stephens was charged with Simultaneous Possession of Drugs and Firearms and Possession of a Controlled Substance, both felonies.

The pretrial hearing dealt with issues relating to the location of evidence and another status hearing was set for June 21st at 10:00 am at the Crawford County Justice Center. 

According to the case notes filed on Court Connect in the case, the state is waiting for crime lab results from the state crime lab as well as the FBI crime lab. They are also waiting on a hair follicle test from the FBI lab as well as text message records from three separate cell phones from the Arkansas crime lab. 

A jury trial has been tentatively set for July 28th at 9 am at the Crawford County Courthouse but this could change based on the evidence availability or any number of other issues.