Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Williams guilty in Cummins murder

The trial against Robert Lee R.J. Williams Jr. wrapped up July 25 with a sentence of life in prison. For those who had expected to hear Williams version of events on the night of July 15, 2004, when he committee murder were disappointed.

Williams did not take the stand, nor did he make a statement to the family prior to sentencing.

Williams was charged with capital murder for the death of James H. Booger Red Cummings.

The trial began with jury selection on July 23. There were only a few jurors remaining in the courtroom when the final juror was seated. The seven-woman, five-man jury panel consisted of two blacks. One black man and one white woman were seated as alternates. Williams attorney, Cathleen Compton, expressed concern of the lack of blacks on the panel. Following the verdict, Compton didnt comment on the make up of the jury, except to say that she abided by the courts ruling in the matter.

Opening statements began July 24 when Thomason explained the case against Williams.

Williams, along with Kevin and Kendrick Barton, went to the Cummings home several nights prior to the murder but found Cummings wife, Peggy, also at home and abandoned their plan to rob Cummings that night. When they returned on July 15, Peggy Cummings was at her job as a night dispatcher at Ouachita Baptist University.

Shes going to tell a story no wife should tell, Thomason said of Peggy Cummings.

When Peggy Cummings took the stand, she told of finding Cummings.

She said Cummings had gone to bed about 10:30 on July 14.

That was the last time I saw him, when he went down the hall to bed, she said.

She then told of her arrival home the next morning. She said the sliding back doors were open and the house in disarray, but didnt immediately realize what had happened. When she discovered that the sofa was overturned, she ran down the hall to her husbands bedroom.

She said she found him on the bed, but didnt realize Cummings was dead.

I tried to get him to answer me, but he couldnt, she said. I felt of him and he was still warm. She then called for help and returned to Cummings bedside. I went back in there and tried to get him to answer me again. At that time, I didnt know he was dead. I thought he was just unconscious.

Cummings said she then ran outside and flagged down a passing motorist who stayed with her until officers arrived.

It wasnt until then that EMTs told Peggy Cummings that her husband was dead.

The state then ran through testimony of officers and experts who outlined what the evidence indicated about the crime.

The medical examiner said the bullet fired into Cummings hip by Kevin Barton would have been serious, but not life-threatening. The bullet fired by Williams was fatal within minutes. That bullet severed Cummings spinal chord, punctured his lung and his liver, causing Cummings to quickly lose and excessive amount of blood.

Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigator Scott Clark was questioned about the interview with Williams, who was 15 at the time of the crime and 16 when he was interviewed by police. Clark said the questioning went on for two hours without Williams parents, and said the decision had already been made to charge Williams as an adult.

Prosecutors also questioned Kevin and Kendrick Barton and Williams sister, Tekelia. Though there were some discrepancies, the three generally agreed that the plan to rob Cummings had been master-minded by Williams older cousin, John Powell.

It was Kendrick Barton who said he believed that murder had been the plan from the beginning.

Kendrick entered a plea agreement and has been sentenced as a juvenile, meaning the sentence details are sealed. During his testimony, he said hed been provided a gun, but didnt take it in the house. He was carrying duct tape and had been told that it would be used in case a second person was in the house. Kendrick said he was told the plan was to rob Cummings, but that he felt Kevin and Williams had not included the younger Kendrick in the details.

I came to the conclusion that the intention was to shoot him, he said. Beforehand, I believed it was supposed to be just a quick robbery. It was some stuff going on all along that they wasnt telling me about.

Though Kevin said his brother asked to go along, Kendrick said Kevin had asked him. Kevin has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder.

Compton said she had searched for John Powell without success.

Heres this person who gets up children to do his dirty work for him and he gets a pass, Compton said of Powell.

When it was time for the defenses case, Compton called only Williams parents, Robert Williams Sr. and Carolyn Williams. Each said their son was in special education classes and drew a Social Security Child/Disability check from the time he was 9 years old. They described him as a follower who would have merely followed the lead and directions of other.

In her closing statements to the jury, Compton said, Dont be concerned that Im going to tell you that (Williams) is not guilty of aggravated robbery. Why it should happen in this country, I dont know, but theyre armed - well armed.

She said killing Cummings was not part of the plan and asked the jury to return a verdict less than capital murder.

It took the jury only an hour and forty minutes to decide that Williams was guilty of capital murder, aggravated robbery and burglary. The murder and robbery charges automatically carried a life sentence and the Williams was sentenced to an additional 20 years for burglary.