A Horatio, Ark., man accused of raping a woman he met at the Electric Cowboy nightclub last year is expected to continue testifying this morning at the Miller County Courthouse in Texarkana.
Bevis testified under questioning from Texarkana lawyer Kristian Young that the sex he had with the alleged victim was consensual and that he never choked, threatened or struck her as she claimed during her testimony Tuesday. Bevis, like the alleged victim, testified they met in the parking lot of the Electric Cowboy nightclub in Texarkana, Ark., as the bar was closing.
Bevis said a man he'd given a ride home to in the past invited the alleged victim and others to his home to avoid a road block near Mandeville, Ark. Bevis testified he got lost driving to the man's trailer home and found himself at Mr. D's nightclub. Bevis said the alleged victim wanted to go inside. The alleged victim testified Tuesday that it was Bevis who wanted to enter Mr. D's past closing time.
Bevis said he chatted with several people at the bar while the alleged victim spoke to the bouncer, James Dansby, at the door. Dansby testified Tuesday that he had never met Bevis or the woman before. Dansby told the jury the woman asked him for a ride and said she felt uncomfortable with Bevis. Dansby testified he couldn't give the woman a ride home but put his number in her cellphone so she could call and let him know she was home safely.
Bevis testified that after leaving Mr. D's, he was able to find the trailer in Mandeville where the alleged victim expected to spend the night but that no one came to the door. He said he and the alleged victim kissed while sitting on the trailer's steps. Bevis said he offered to get the woman a motel room and that he intended to return home to Horatio. The woman testified Tuesday that Bevis offered to get a room for them to share, but she declined, insisting she wanted to go home.
Bevis said that as he drove along Mandeville Road in Miller County, the woman said she wanted him to hold her. Bevis said he pulled off the road and the two were "hugging and kissing," when he exited his small maroon Toyota pickup, relieved himself and walked to the passenger side of the truck.
The woman testified Tuesday that Bevis called her names and insisted she was going to have sex with him in graphic terms before exiting the truck and quickly reaching the passenger door, opening it, and assaulting her. Bevis said the two were kissing when the woman initiated a sexual act that led to intercourse.
Bevis said the woman was in the truck and he was standing in the passenger door having sex with her when she accused him of choking and hitting her when he had not. Bevis denied he caused a cut and large knot to the woman's eye visible in photos shown to the jury during the woman's testimony Tuesday or that his behavior resulted in redness to her neck or other trauma.
Bevis claimed the woman began "yelling and screaming" and demanding her phone as they were intimate. Bevis said he eventually shoved the woman out of his truck and drove away. Bevis explained his belt and shirt being found on the ground where the encounter occurred by testifying that the woman was grabbing things out of his truck after he told her to get out.
The woman testified Tuesday that she told Bevis she "wasn't ready" for sexual contact because she was still mourning the motorcycle crash death of her boyfriend about a year before. Bevis said the woman did mention that sentiment before they "had sex," but that she seemed to have "changed her mind." Bevis said in hindsight it was probably not a good idea to leave a partially clothed, petite woman of roughly 110 pounds on the side of the road at 5 a.m.
Bevis said he noticed a truck following him as he headed down Highway 71 toward Ashdown, Ark. Dansby, who was working security for Mr. D's, testified Tuesday that the woman called him, screaming that she had been beaten and raped, as he was driving to his Texarkana, Ark., home. Dansby said he turned his truck around and called 911. Dansby said he spotted the truck he'd seen the man and woman leave the club in and followed it, relaying its location to dispatchers under the belief that the woman might still be in the pickup.
Bevis said he was stopped and arrested for driving while intoxicated by police in Ashdown.
Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson released the jury after Bevis testified for the defense. This morning, Bevis is expected to answer questions from the prosecution.
Other witnesses to testify Wednesday included a serologist and a DNA analyst from the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock. The scientists testified that the alleged victim's and Bevis' DNA were found on vaginal and rectal swabs collected during a sexual assault examination hours after the woman was allegedly assaulted.
A sexual assault nurse examiner testified Tuesday that the woman had tears to her vagina and rectum as well as trauma and bruising to her face, leg and neck.
Texarkana, Ark., Detective Paul Nall testified that he acquired a warrant for Bevis' arrest after interviewing the woman and Dansby. In a video of Nall's interrogation of Bevis on the afternoon of Nov. 1, 2015, Bevis admits that he is required to register as a sex offender because of a 1999 conviction for an offense involving his ex-wife's daughter, who was under 14 at the time.
Under questioning from Young, Bevis explained that he and the girl's mother were involved in a divorce and the girl was angry with him. Bevis said he could no longer afford to pay a defense attorney and accepted an offer for a four-year probation that allowed him to remain free and raise the two sons who were living with and depended on him.
Bevis faces 10 to 40 years or life in an Arkansas prison if convicted of rape. The case is expected to be placed in the jury's hands today.