Judge Rob Ratton today accepted a negotiated plea of manslaughter in the case of Shaun Caleb Crawford who fatally shot his brother, originally Crawford was charged with 1st Degree Murder but the charge was reduced to manslaughter and Crawford was sentenced to 10 years for the offense.
Crawford’s trial was scheduled to begin Monday, Aug. 19th, on Tuesday, Crawford waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Judge Rob Ratton sentenced Crawford to 120 months in the Arkansas Department of Corrections on the manslaughter charge along with 60 months to run concurrently on the tampering with evidence conviction.
Crawford received 493 days of jail time credit.
An additional charge of possession of a firearm by certain persons was nolle prossed.
Crawford allegedly was arguing with his brother in April 2023, when he pulled a pistol from his waistband and threw it at his brother, Ian. Crawford claimed the gun went off.
Crawford admitted to panicking, attempting to clean up his brother and hiding the gun behind a nearby church.
Original article….
Authorities report that Shaun Crawford, age 21 was arrested after the shooting death of his brother Ian Crawford.
Law enforcement responded at 3:54 Sunday morning to a residence on Park Street where officers found a deceased male with gunshot wounds according to a press release.
Shaun Crawford was arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.
Crawford is being held on $250,000 bond and will be in court on May 15th