Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Clemency Denied For Arsonist

Clemency was denied for Richard Matthew Ward by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Ward, who was convicted of burning the Emmet gym Feb. 5, 1997, is currently serving a 40 year term in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

With Huckabee denying the commutation of the sentence, Ward is now not eligible for parole until Dec. 5, 2007, and if not paroled, is scheduled for release Dec. 5, 2018.

Additionally, Ward cannot seek to get his sentenced commuted for another four years.

The incident occurred Nov. 19, 1996.

At about 1:20 a.m. a call was made to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office concerning a fire at the Emmet gym.

The first fire crews arrived at 1:30 a.m., and saw the blaze had already spread and was out of control.

As the firemen battled the flames, witnesses noticed a trail of clothing leading from the gym down a hill toward the tennis courts. These items were collected and photographed by Arkansas State Police criminal investigators Jack Ursery and Butch Godwin.

Investigators learned a person had been admitted to Medical Park Hospital in Hope shortly after 2 a.m. with severe burns. They went to Hope to see if the two incidents were related.

There they met Ward's wife, Latisha, who was also sentenced to 40 years for her involvement, and were told Ward had burned himself while pouring gasoline into a burn barrel.

He was transferred to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock for further treatment.

Meanwhile, the investigation at the scene continued. Once the fire had been extinguished and cooled off enough officers probed the remains looking for the fire's starting point.

A "fire dog" was brought in from the Texarkana, Arkansas Fire Department to sniff for accelerants. The dog hit on several spots, with samples taken and sent to the Arkansas Crime Lab in Little Rock for testing.

It was determined the fire began on the west side of the gym in the dressing rooms.

Officers decided a more detailed interview of Latisha Ward was needed and went to Little Rock to question her again.

She was advised of her rights by ASP CID Scott Clark and Lt. Mike Fletcher and admitted her husband started the fire.

She wrote a statement detailing the events of the night the gym burned, telling officers she had driven her husband to Emmet and he got out of the car with at least one container of gasoline.

Officers were told she drove around, returned to the gym and saw him running from it on fire. She helped put the fire out and took him to Medical Park Hospital.

The two were subsequently arrested and retained the legal services of Chuck Honey.

Ward, while being held, underwent a mental health evaluation to see if he was competent to stand trial.

It was learned he had a substance dependency problem and adult anti-social behavior, but no mental illnesses.

Instead of going to trial, the Wards agreed to a plea arrangement of 40 years with 18 suspended.

He was to pay restitution in the amount of $21,600 and is not allowed to return to either Nevada or Hempstead county during the 18 years of the suspended sentence.

Since then, Ward has been transferred to the facility in Newport.

During the interim, members of his family have written letters to the court trying to get the sentence reduced or commuted.