Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Dansby Appointed Attorneys

Prescott attorney Gene Hale will be representing accused killer Joe Louis Dansby in court.

This announcement came Thursday, Sept. 21, when R.S. McCullough, who Dansby had told the court was his attorney failed to show a second time and sent a letter to Hale to the effect he had represented Dansby in a prior matter, but was not retained to provide him legal assistance in this case.

Once Eighth Judicial District Judge Joe Griffin learned McCullough wasn't Dansby's attorney, he appointed Hale to act in the defendant's behalf as a public defender. Hale will be assisted by co-counsel Charles Potter of Texarkana. McCullough, in his letter, informed Hale he would be available to offer any technical services needed.

The letter states: "In regards to your (Hale's) letter dated Aug. 31, 1995, be advised that we have, in the past, provided some representation to Mr. Dansby, but currently we have not been retained to continue further in regards to this matter. We may be in a position to provide some technical assistance to you if certain other matters are present."

McCullough's letter said those matters were not the type which could be disclosed in an open transmission, such as the facsimile the letter was sent on. The Little Rock-based lawyer said he would need to know what evidence the state has against Dansby in order to determine whether or not he can help.

Hale will be filing motions for discovery to get copies of all the evidence the state has against his client. Griffin set a date of Dec. 1, 1995 for all motions on both sides to be filed. The pretrial hearing is set for Dec. 11, while the actual trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 16, 1996.

At the hearing, Hale entered a plea of not guilty for his client. "Dansby denies killing them (Malissa Clark and Jeff Lewis)," Hale said. "He says he's innocent and was nowhere in the area at the time (of the double murder). He's always maintained his innocence."

Dansby was officially charged with the murders of Lewis and Clark on Aug. 10 by Judge Griffin. The murders took place on or about May 16, 1992. At the time, Griffin told Dansby of his rights and informed him if found guilty he could be sentenced to death. The charge of capital murder is a class Y felony punishable by life in prison without the chance of parole or death.

During the appearance, Dansby had no attorney present, but told the court McCullough was his lawyer. He said McCullough had contacted him while he was in Altus, Okla.

Dansby had to be extradited from Oklahoma because he refused to return to Prescott on his own. Nevada County Sheriff Harold Vines and a deputy made the trip, which took about six and a half hours. During the trip, Vines said Dansby made no statements and caused no problems.

Following his first hearing, Dansby was given a second date of Aug. 31 to return to court with his attorney. When the time came, he returned to court, but had no attorney. Dansby still maintained McCullough was his lawyer, but Griffin went ahead and appointed Hale to represent the defendant and act as a go-between for him and McCullough. All were told to report to court again on Sept. 21. This is when Hale was formally named Dansby's barrister.

According to official reports, the bodies of Lewis, 24, and Clark, 21, who were to be married, were found about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 16, 1992. Each had apparently been shot several times with a small caliber weapon.

The two had told family members they were going to ride Lewis' all-terrain vehicle Saturday afternoon, May 15. When they didn't return Saturday night, their families became worried.

The search for the young couple was begun by former chief deputy Harley Hillery, who was Clark's stepfather. As word got out about the missing pair, more and more people joined the search. At one point, the search had grown to more than 100 people, who combed the woods in southern Nevada County.

When the search parties reached the Lackland Springs area, a pair of bloody gym shorts was found. The shorts belonged to Lewis. Blood was also found on the ground in the area.

Former Nevada County Sheriff Abb Morman sent Cale resident Lamar Barham to an area Barham was familiar with. It was here Barham located Lewis' pickup and called for help.

Clark's body was found near the truck, while Lewis' remains were discovered in the truck bed, wedged between the bed wall and his ATV.

According to the evidence found, the pair had been shot in one place and moved to where they were found.

Two years later, an informant told Morman and his deputies a .22 caliber rifle had been thrown into a gravel pit near the Prescott Raceway. It was believed this was the weapon used to kill Lewis and Clark. Divers recovered the rifle from 12 feet of water.

The weapon was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock, where ballistics tests were made. However, these tests were inconclusive and the rifle was sent to a lab in Canada for further testing. This weapon allegedly belonged to Dansby.

In mid-July, local officials were notified Dansby was in Altus, where he was being arrested by the Altus Police Department. He was being held in the Jackson County Jail, where he stayed until Aug. 10, when he was returned to Arkansas.

To protect the defendant, Dansby is not being held in the Nevada County Jail, but is being held elsewhere.

Morman, in a previous interview, said he'll be glad when this trial is over and justice is done. He said the state only has one shot to convict Dansby and he didn't want to lose the case on technicalities. "If we'd arrested him earlier, he would be a free man the rest of his life," Morman said. "We did what we knew was right."

Vines echoed the statement, saying his office has been working on the case since Jan. 1, when he literally took office. "I feel we have a good case against him," Vines said.