A federal judge in Fort Smith today postponed the trial of two former Crawford County sheriff’s deputies charged in the violent arrest of a man in Mulberry last year. The new trial date is Dec. 11.
U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III said having the trial in early April would have denied the defense “reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.”
Former deputies Levi White, 32, and Zackary King, 27, have pleaded innocent. They are accused of violating the civil rights of Randal Worcester, 27, of Goose Creek, S.C., when they arrested him last August after he was accused of threatening and spitting on a grocery store worker.
If convicted, White and King would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the excessive-force charge. Both defendants also would face up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Worcester is also awaiting trial in Crawford County Circuit Court on felony charges of terroristic threatening and second-degree battery along with misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, possessing instruments of crime, obstructing governmental operations and disorderly conduct.
Federal agents did not arrest a third officer who helped with the arrest, Mulberry Police Officer Thell Riddle, who has returned to work.