JONESBORO, Ark. — A Jonesboro man initially charged with felony robbery received a 12-month suspended imposition of sentence after pleading guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief, according to court records filed Sept. 17.
Christopher Lee Bills, 43, entered a negotiated guilty plea to first-degree criminal mischief involving damage of $1,000 or less, a Class A misdemeanor. The sentencing order shows the robbery charge was amended to criminal mischief, while separate charges of third-degree battery and theft of property valued at $1,000 or less were dropped through a process known as nolle prosequi.
Circuit Judge Chris Thyer accepted the plea agreement and signed the sentencing order. Deputy Prosecutor Katherine E. Calaway-Turner represented the state, and public defender Presley Noel represented Bills, according to the order.
The order imposes no jail or prison term. Bills instead received 12 months of suspended imposition of sentence, commonly called SIS, subject to court-ordered conditions. The accompanying suspension order warns that a violation could result in revocation and up to a year in county jail.
Bills must complete batterers and anger management classes, undergo a mental health assessment within 90 days and follow its recommendations. He also must comply with a no-contact order.
The court assessed a $100 fine, $150 in court costs, a $40 jail administration fee and a $250 public defender fee, totaling $540. The paperwork calls for $75 monthly payments and a separate $10 monthly payment-plan fee.
K8 originally reported Bills’ arrest. According to K8’s account of the police probable cause affidavit, the state’s allegations stemmed from a March 23 confrontation outside a woman’s Jonesboro apartment. Police alleged Bills accused her of taking his property, punched her and struck her with a motorcycle helmet before taking her purse and keys.
Police further alleged that Bills later entered the woman’s apartment and prevented her from leaving, according to the affidavit described in K8’s report. K8 reported that officers found Bills inside the apartment and arrested him.
At the initial probable cause hearing, Special Judge Barbara Halsey set Bills’ bond at $100,000 cash only and ordered him to have no contact with the woman, according to K8’s original reporting.
The September court records establish a guilty plea to criminal mischief, not convictions for the original robbery, battery, or theft allegations. NEA Report found no explanation as to why the robbery charge was amended, or the other counts dropped, and they do not establish how much time Bills spent in custody before the plea.
All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
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