Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Dansby Family Hires Camden Defense Lawyers For Murder Defense

By JOHN MILLER Joe Louis Dansby's capital murder trial will not begin Sept. 23 as scheduled. This is because new attorneys have been hired by Dansby's family to represent him in the case. According to court records, Monday, Aug. 19, a hearing had been scheduled wherein Gene Hale, Dansby's court-appointed lawyer, was getting ready to make a motion to suppress evidence in the case -- a cartridge casing allegedly found by former Nevada County Sheriff Abb Morman on Dansby's property. However, before the motion was made, Dansby's brother announced he had hired two attorneys from Camden to take over the case. Jamie Pratt and Gene Bramblett were hired to replace Hale as counsel for the accused. Hale will now release all his files in the case to Pratt and Bramblett. "There are no hard feelings," Hale said. "I'll cooperate fully with them." The change of attorneys in the case will save Nevada County some money as well. Hale, as the public defender, was being paid by the county for his legal services. The duo of Pratt and Bramblett, however, will be paid for their efforts by Dansby's family. According to court records, though, the speedy trial rules were waived in this situation to give the new lawyers time to familiarize themselves with the details of the case. A pre-trial conference will be held in the matter Sept. 23, but the location of this hearing has not been named as yet. The actual trial will be held in Miller County, also at a time to be named. Speculation in the case has the trial beginning sometime after the first of the year in 1997. Dansby has been charged with the murder of Jeff Lewis, 24, and the murder and rape of Malissa Clark, 21, on or about May 16, 1992. Lewis and Clark were engaged to be married when they were killed. According to records, the couple had told their families they were going to ride Lewis' all-terrain vehicle. When they didn't return home as the day turned into night, their families became worried. Sunday morning dawned with the two still missing. Harley Hillery, Clark's stepfather, and former chief deputy of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, was the first to start searching for the two. As morning turned into afternoon, word spread about the missing couple. This led to more and more people joining in on the search. At one time, more than 100 people were combing the county for Lewis and Clark. The first break in the search came when a small amount of blood was found in an area known as Lackland Springs, near the Upchurch Community. Dansby, at the time, lived in the Upchurch Community. Court records show Lewis' checkbook, sunglasses and gym shorts were found at this site, along with a pair of pink ladies panties and four spent .22 shells. Once the first evidence in the case was found, it didn't take long before the bodies of the young couple were discovered. Former Sheriff Abb Morman sent Lamar Barham to an area Barham knew well. This was an area owned by Potlatch Timber Co. off county road 22. It was at this location the bodies of Lewis and Clark were found. Lewis' 1984 Chevrolet 4x4 pickup was here, where it has apparently hit a stump and tree. Glass from the driver's side mirror was found on the ground nearby. Searcher's found Lewis' body wedged in the truck bed between the bed wall and his ATV. Clark's nude body was found on the ground near the back of the truck. Both had been shot several times with a .22 caliber weapon, according to court records. For a year, no other evidence in the case surfaced. However, Morman received a tip concerning a .22 caliber rifle, which may have been used in the killings. The weapon was found by he and his deputies in a bar pit pond off Highway 53 near the Prescott Raceway. By tracing the serial numbers on the rifle, it was learned the weapon was owned by Dansby. These numbers matched a rifle purchased in Dansby's name at an Arkadelphia Wal-Mart store four years earlier. However, the rifle was actually purchased by Dansby's wife, Betty, who signed his name to the documents. Also at the time of the murders, a bicycle was stolen from the residence of Wilma Page, who lives near where the bodies were found. Bicycle tracks, according to records, were found on county road 290 from Highway 299 to county road 290 and the Upchurch Community. Another break in the case came when Hillery received a tip from an informant on Dec. 31, 1993 concerning the bicycle. Records show the informant told Hillery Dansby had ridden the bicycle from his home to the airport where it was hidden. The bike was recovered by Hillery and matched the one taken from the Page residence. In mid-July 1995, authorities were notified of Dansby living in Altus, Okla. He had been arrested by officers with the Altus Police Department in connection with the Lewis and Clark murders. Dansby fought extradition, but was returned to Arkansas by court order on Aug. 10, 1995. When he arrived in Nevada County, Dansby was formally charged with the murders of Jeff Lewis and Malissa Clark, along with one count of rape. Murder, in Arkansas, is a class Y felony, punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole or death.