A Miller County jury acquitted a man Thursday who was accused of raping a woman he met at a Texarkana, Ark., bar last year.
Gary Lynn Bevis, 46, gave an audible, relieved sigh after Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson read the jury's verdict in open court mid-afternoon Thursday. The alleged victim in the case leaned forward, grabbing the back of the wooden bench seating in front of her, and sobbed.
A jury of six men and six women was selected to decide the case Monday. One female juror was replaced by a male alternate during the trial because of travel plans. The jury heard testimony all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday morning the jury listened as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell cross-examined Bevis before hearing closing arguments from Mitchell, Texarkana defense lawyer Kristian Young and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Cotton.
Bevis was charged with rape after a woman he offered a ride from the Electric Cowboy in the early hours of Nov. 1, 2015, claimed he choked, beat and sexually assaulted her.
"We just didn't think there was enough evidence," said a female juror. "We would have like to have heard from witnesses who were with her that night. We just didn't feel we had enough to send a man to prison."
The juror said that the jury wished Bevis' hands had been photographed when he was interviewed the afternoon of Nov. 1, 2015. She said that both Bevis' and the alleged victim's accounts had "holes" which left them unable to find Bevis guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
During the trial, a sexual assault nurse testified she noted tearing to the woman's vaginal and rectal areas as well as redness and bruising to her neck, face, thigh and leg. The nurse testified the woman had a large bleeding cut above her left eye as well.
Experts from the Arkansas State Crime Lab testified Bevis' DNA was present on swabs collected during a rape kit.
During his testimony, Bevis claimed the sex was consensual and that the woman "went crazy" and "started yelling" while they were being intimate in his truck on the side of Highway 67 in Texarkana, Ark. The woman claimed she repeatedly told Bevis "no" but that he slapped, choked, raped, and punched her before leaving her partially clothed on the side of Mandeville Road in the dark.
James Dansby, who was working security at Mr. D's nightclub, said the woman and Bevis came into the bar at closing time. Dansby said the woman asked him for a ride and said she felt uncomfortable with Bevis. Dansby testfied he gave the woman his phone number and that he was driving home when she called him later in the night and said she'd been raped.
The woman claimed Dansby called her and that she answered during the alleged assault.
Bevis testified he pushed the woman out of his truck, not realizing his shirt and belt were on the ground, and headed to his home in Horatio, Ark. Dansby caught sight of Bevis' truck, called 911, and followed the truck until police stopped him in Ashdown, Ark. Bevis was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Ashdown.
Mitchell said the jury's verdict was disappointing.
"Obviously we are disappointed in the outcome, but as always we respect the jury's service," Mitchell said.
Bevis, speaking through Texarkana lawyer Danny Cook, a member of his defense team, said he is grateful to the jury.
"God bless the people of Texarkana who listened to me," Bevis said. "I'm proud that I have cleared my name after being acquitted of the charge."