Four people from Southeast Arkansas, including one who was convicted of murder, applied to have their prison sentences commuted but were turned down Tuesday by the Arkansas Parole Board.
Damian Lott, now 27, pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree murder stemming from the Jan. 17, 2010, shooting of Ira Harris, who was found inside a house on Fluker Street and who died at Jefferson Regional Medical Center on Feb. 6. Lott was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Police had to force their way into the house where Harris was living because all the doors were locked. Harris had previously called emergency dispatchers to report that he had been shot and told a dispatcher that Damian who lived on Magnolia Street shot him.
Police ran a check on the name Damian and determined that the only Damian who lived on Magnolia Street was Damian Lott, and Harris had a video surveillance system in his house showing Lott removing items.
When Lott was questioned, he reportedly told police he had gone to the house, where Harris let him in and the two talked. Lott said that then “a disaster happened and he pulled out a gun and shot Mr. Harris,” former Pine Bluff Police Department Detective Brent Bridges said in a probable cause affidavit.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Lott, who was 22 at the time, also pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and to one count of theft of property and was sentenced to six years in prison. All of the sentences were to run concurrently, or at the same time.
He was originally charged with capital murder in the case but entered the plea to a reduced charge on June 27, 2011, and is required to serve 70 percent of his sentence before being eligible to apply for parole.
Other Southeast Arkansas residents who had applied for sentence commutation, the county of conviction and the charge the person was convicted of were as follows:
* Bobby Green, Desha County, four counts of aggravated robbery as a habitual offender, three counts of kidnapping as a habitual offender, one count of first-degree escape as a habitual offender, one count of felon in possession of a firearm as a habitual offender and three counts of theft of property as a habitual offender. He was also convicted of aggravated robbery and theft of property in Pulaski County.
* Ashley Griffin, Jefferson County, possession of a schedule I/II controlled substance excluding methamphetamine/cocaine and a probation revocation.
* Jamie Hemphill, Bradley County, robbery and residential burglary.
The parole board also determined that the applications for a pardon from three Southeast Arkansas residents had merit, while applications from two others were determined to be without merit.
The three applicants who were determined to be with merit, the county of conviction and crime convicted of were as follows:
* Clifton W. Baxter, Bradley County, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of alprazolam with purpose to deliver.
* Beverly K. Clanton, Bradley County, two counts possession of drug paraphernalia and a probation revocation.
* Ray A. Plummer, Jefferson County, theft of property. Also possession of cocaine with purpose to deliver from Pulaski County.
The two applicants who were determined to be without merit, the county of conviction and crime convicted of were as follows:
* Porsha Gonder, Jefferson County, second-degree battery.
* Willie J. Starr, Arkansas County, second-degree battery, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.