LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Prosecutors on Monday dropped a felony manslaughter charge against a former Little Rock police officer in the death of a 15-year-old boy who was suspected of breaking into cars at an apartment complex.
Two previous trials ended in hung juries for Josh Hastings, who was charged in the 2012 death of Bobby Moore III. Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Johnson said at a Monday pre-trial hearing that he believed Hastings was guilty but didn’t believe he could convince a jury.
Hastings fired into a car that Moore was driving with two other teenagers inside, which he claimed to have done because the car was moving toward him. Investigators said physical evidence from the scene indicated the car was in reverse or was stopped several feet from Hastings when he fired through the windshield.
Police Chief Stuart Thomas fired Hastings after concluding “the use of deadly force was not justified.”
Prior to the August 2012 shooting, Hastings had been suspended six times in five years. He appealed his firing and his attorney, Bill James, said Monday he’s waiting for the Civil Service Commission to set a hearing.
“We’ll try to get that set as soon as possible,” James said, adding he believes Hastings will get his job restored.
Prosecutors could refile the charge against Hastings but James said he doesn’t believe that is likely.
Last month, James filed a motion to dismiss the charges. Prosecutors on Monday moved to simply not prosecute Hastings, a request that Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen granted.
A third trial was to have started May 5. After the second hung jury, Prosecutor Larry Jegley said his office had brought other cases to a jury for a third time and said he intended to do the same with Hastings.
James said his client is ready to move on.
“There’s no winners in this thing. Everyone has lost something,” James said. “It’s time to let the healing begin.”
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported (https://is.gd/NKonfr ) that Griffen told family members it’s possible that Hastings could again be charged.
“Nobody needs to walk out of here with a hard-and-fast idea about what the future means except that this prosecution is discontinued,” he said, adding that nobody should walk out thinking that ’Bobby Moore’s death was not a tragedy.’”
The newspaper reported that an older sister of Moore criticized the decision to drop Hastings’ prosecution.
“He killed a 15-year-old child,” Deazzaray Perkins said outside of court. “They think we’re supposed to be OK with it? I’m not . That was my baby brother. It’s been three years. We haven’t been able to spend Christmas, New Year’s, birthdays, nothing. He killed my little brother a few weeks before his birthday. It hurts.”
Johnson said the case had unique elements that made it difficult to secure a unanimous verdict.
“Not just difficult. We have no good-faith basis we would ever get a jury to unanimously convict,” he said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.