Court reverses robbery conviction

Rodrick Vann
Rodrick Vann

A Miller County jury's conviction for aggravated robbery and accompanying 40-year prison term were reversed Wednesday by the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Rodrick Vann, 21, is accused of participating in the armed robbery of a man Nov. 25, 2016, in a room at the Motel 6 in Texarkana, Ark. At trial, co-defendant Kiona Easter testified that Vann arranged for her to meet the victim and go with him to his at his motel room after telling her how her good looks would make it easy for her to set someone up for the crime.

Easter testified that after she'd been in the man's room for about 45 minutes, she received a text from Vann telling her to open the door. When Easter opened the door, three masked men rushed in and robbed the victim of cash, car keys and a cellphone.

Five members of the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department testified in the case but did not offer evidence linking Vann to the crime, according to the appellate opinion. The alleged victim did not testify in Vann's trial but did take the stand in a trial for co-defendant Master Leal. Leal, 24, was sentenced to a 40-year term that he is currently serving.

The appellate opinion states that there was no testimony at Vann's trial which corroborated Easter's testimony. The law is clear that a defendant cannot be convicted on the word of an accomplice alone.

Easter received a 10-year term of probation as part of a plea bargain which included her testimony at her co-defendants' trial. Kevonte Smith, 21, pleaded guilty in August of this year after undergoing a competency evaluation which determined him fit to proceed. Smith's plea deal included a 17-year prison sentence to be followed by three years suspended sentence.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell said her office is evaluating the case to determine if Vann will be retried in Miller County for the aggravated robbery.

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