Wanted white supremacist arrested in Arkansas
IZARD COUNTY — A Texas man listed of one of the state's 10 most wanted was arrested in Izard County early Wednesday morning.
Joshua David Whitworth, also known as Fat-Boy, was taken into custody after an all-night man hunt for him.
Whitworth, who is affiliated with the white supremacist group the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, was reportedly in the Stone County area, according to officials.
Stone County Chief Deputy Dammon McGilton said he found Whitworth in a car in Izard County, but Whitworth escaped after a 'brief struggle' between the two.
Officers from both Stone and Izard counties then began searching for him.
At one point he was spotted on a four-wheeler before abandoning that and running away.
He was arrested around 9 a.m. on Wednesday. He is facing charges of meth possession, theft of property, resisting arrest, and fleeing. Whitworth reportedly has a long criminal history and is wanted for parole violation and other crimes in Texas.
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LITTLE ROCK—A Little Rock man was sentenced late Thursday on one count of possession of child pornography. United States District Court Judge Kristine Baker sentenced Bryan Shannon, 54, to 135 months in federal prison.
In February 2019, an undercover FBI agent posted an online advertisement targeted at people seeking children for sexual purposes. The FBI agent received a response through an online messaging platform from an individual with the username “taboojunkie,” later identified as Bryan Shannon. The FBI agent and Shannon engaged in sexually explicit conversation, and Shannon told the FBI agent that he had engaged in sex acts with a five-year-old and an eightyear- old child.
The FBI learned that Shannon was a registered sex offender with prior convictions for lewd or lascivious act in the presence of a child in 1995, lewd or lascivious molestation in 1999, unlawful possession of a photograph or representation of sexual conduct by a child in 2000, and knowingly showing obscene materials to minors in 2000. The FBI executed a federal search warrant at Shannon’s residence, where they located Shannon’s phone and laptop computer, both of which contained videos and images of child pornography.
In May 2019, Shannon was charged in a one-count indictment with possession of child pornography. The defendant pleaded guilty to the indictment on July 15, 2020.
In addition to the prison term, Shannon was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release following his imprisonment. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.
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Hutchinson announces 2% raises for state employees
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Thursday that thousands of state employees would receive a 2% cost-of-living wage and salary adjustment, citing inflationary pressures as a reason for granting the pay raise.
Hutchinson said the raise, the first COLA the state has granted in 10 years, will be for executive branch employees and will be reflected in their Feb. 25 paychecks. The increase will affect 22,500 employees, Hutchinson’s office said.
Employees who work for agencies or offices not under the governor’s authority will not be eligible for the raises, and Hutchinson said the COLA would not substitute for merit raises employees could receive.
“I see this as absolutely necessary in light of the inflationary pressures they are all experiencing and because of their extraordinary work coming out of this pandemic,” Hutchinson told reporters at his weekly media briefing.
Hutchinson said the state’s chief fiscal officer has certified to him that the state has enough general revenue for the increase, which will cost $24 million. Finance officials have said the state expects to end the current fiscal year with a $500 million surplus.
