West Memphis man receives 30-year sentence for murder

West Memphis man receives 30-year sentence for murder

Thomas convicted of August 2016 murder of Robert Barrentine

Office of the Prosecuting Attorney 2nd Judicial District MARION, AR – Scott Ellington, District Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District of Arkansas, announces that on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, Lester Ray Thomas, age 39, pled guilty to one count of First Degree Murder for the death of Robert Barrentine, age 20. Barrentine was killed in his home on Balfour Street in West Memphis, Arkansas on Aug. 31, 2016. Thomas was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney J. Matthew Coe prosecuted the case for the State of Arkansas.

Ellington said, “I want to thank the West Memphis Police Department and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney J. Matthew Coe for the tremendous work that they put into this case. The police detectives and Mr. Coe put many hours into this investigation and prosecution to make sure this violent individual was taken off the streets of their community.

Without their work, this man would not have been brought to justice.”

Thomas will be locked away for quite a while.

“Due to Mr. Thomas’s prior felony history, he will not be eligible for parole and will have to serve every day of his 30 year sentence, said Ellington. “We consulted with the victim’s

family, and this plea removes this violent individual from our community, spares the victim’s family from years of appeal proceedings that would occur after the jury trial and the family agreed that this plea and sentence, without the eligibility of parole, was in their best interests and the interests of justice.”

From Jessica Smith