Miller County Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black said Thursday that her office intends to seek the death penalty for an Arkansas prison inmate accused of beating one female guard to death and seriously injuring another at the Miller County jail in December.
Tramell Mackenzie Hunter, 27, has been formally charged with capital murder of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty in the death of Correctional Officer Lisa Mauldin and with first-degree battery of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty for injuries he allegedly inflicted on correctional officer Damaris Allen. Hunter faces the possibility of a death sentence or life without the possibility of parole if found guilty of capital murder in Mauldin's death and the possibility of 10 to 40 years or life in prison if found guilty of battery in the assault of Allen.
Hunter is accused of attacking Mauldin, 47, at about 1 p.m., Dec. 18 in the jail's kitchen, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Hunter allegedly used his hands to inflict fatal injuries on Mauldin. After incapacitating Mauldin, Hunter was met by Allen, 35, as he tried to leave the kitchen.
"Hunter struck Allen in the face, knocking her to the floor," the affidavit states. "Hunter then struck Allen with her portable radio. Hunter dropped the radio and struck Allen with his fist several times. Hunter then ran out of the kitchen and was apprehended in the hallway by other detention deputies."
Hunter was serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery and two counts of felony domestic battery assessed him Feb. 22, 2011, as part of a plea bargain in Pulaski County, court records show. Case documents acquired by the Gazette show that Tramell's convictions stem from a Jan. 27, 2010, confrontation at a relative's home in Little Rock.
Tramell shot his uncle when the uncle tried to stop him from stealing his mother's car and then fired a second shot, striking his mother, before driving away in her rented Dodge Charger, according to case records. Hunter's mother and uncle survived after undergoing surgeries. Tramell told investigators he intended to kill himself when his funds were exhausted. Tramell reported that he left town and switched the plates on the car after spending a couple of nights in Texarkana before heading to the Houston/ Galveston area.
Tramell surrendered Feb. 10, 2010, to police in Galveston, Texas, after running out of money and finding himself unable to commit suicide, records state. A pearl-handled revolver with a defaced serial number Tramell claimed to have used during the shooting of his mother and uncle was recovered from the stolen car.
But Tramell's history of violent behavior did not prevent him from being assigned to Miller County as a 309 work inmate. The 309 program is meant to relieve prison overcrowding, reduce incarceration costs, and assist law enforcement with manpower, thus decreasing local costs, according to an Arkansas Department of Correction administrative directive on the Act 309 Program and ADC's website. The city or county jail is reimbursed for the cost of housing a 309 inmate.
Inmates assigned to local jails as part of the 309 program are typically given more freedom to move about and work than other inmates and are generally considered low-risk. A 309 work inmate is permitted to work outside the prison walls and in the community under the supervision of jail officials. ADC Public Information Officer Solomon Graves said Hunter was in Miller County as a 309 work inmate.
Following an initial court appearance Dec. 20 before District Judge Wren Autrey, Tramell was moved to the Varner Supermax Unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction. Tramell's case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson. Court records indicate that Tramell will be brought to Miller County this month for arraignment on the charges and return to ADC after the hearing.