Man Arrested in Connection with Jonesboro Woman’s Death

Mar 11, 2024 Stan Morris Craighead County 0

JONESBORO, Ark. – A man who was arrested over the weekend is being charged in connection to the death of a Jonesboro woman, police confirmed.

Randy Joe Coaker, 38, of Jonesboro, was arrested Sunday night on a felony charge of Aggravated Death by Delivery. His bond has been set at $3 million, jail records show.

JPD Public Information Specialist Sally Smith told NEA Report that Coaker’s probable cause hearing would be on Wednesday. Until then, the investigatory file remains open, meaning it is exempt from a records request.

At the request of JPD, NEA Report is not disclosing the name of the victim until after Wednesday’s PC hearing.

Initially, jail records listed the charge as First Degree Murder – but according to JPD Public Information Specialist Sally Smith, that was incorrect.  The charge of Aggravated Death by Delivery was added to Arkansas law in 2023. In adults, the charge exclusively deals with fentanyl overdoses resulting in death.

The statute includes a mandatory term of imprisonment of no less than twenty (20) years nor more than sixty (60) years, or life.

(a) A person commits the offense of aggravated death by delivery if:

 (1)

  (A) He or she knowingly delivers or conveys fentanyl to another person; and
  (B) The injection, ingestion, inhalation, or other introduction of the fentanyl, including any adulterants or diluents, is the cause of death of the other person; or
 (2)

  (A) He or she knowingly delivers or conveys fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, or cocaine to a minor; and
  (B) The injection, ingestion, inhalation, or other introduction of the fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, or cocaine, including any adulterants or diluents, causes the death of the minor.
(b)

 (1) A person who commits the offense of aggravated death by delivery under subdivision (a)(1) of this section upon conviction is guilty of an unclassified felony and shall be sentenced to term of imprisonment of no less than twenty (20) years nor more than sixty (60) years, or life.
 (2)

  (A) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2)(B) of this section, a person who commits the offense of aggravated death by delivery under subdivision (a)(2) of this section upon conviction is guilty of an unclassified felony and shall be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment.
  (B) A person who commits the offense of aggravated death by delivery under subdivision (a)(2) of this section who is less than three (3) years older than the minor whose death was caused upon conviction is guilty of an unclassified felony and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of no less than twenty (20) years nor more than sixty (60) years, or life.

Ark. Code § 5-10-202

https://neareport.com/2024/03/13/new-info-man-charged-in-fentanyl-overdose-of-woman-in-jonesboro/

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