A Texarkana man accused of murder in the November stabbing death of a driver found dead behind the wheel of his wrecked car was scheduled for a November jury trial at a hearing Tuesday in Miller County.
Cameron "Fishman" Scott Halliburton, 29, appeared late Tuesday morning before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones for a pretrial hearing with Managing Public Defender Jason Mitchell. Until Tuesday, Halliburton's murder case was scheduled for jury selection Aug. 20.
That changed Tuesday at Mitchell's request. Mitchell said he is still in the process of reviewing the state's evidence and that his office's investigator is hoping for more time to contact and interview witnesses, including character witnesses who may testify at trial on Halliburton's behalf.
"The state is ready," Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Potter Barrett said. "We have provided all discovery to the defense."
Mitchell asked Jones to place the case on the court's November trial docket and Jones agreed. Jury selection in the case is now scheduled for Nov. 26, the one-year anniversary of 27-year-old Jarrod Klein's death.
Halliburton is accused of stabbing Klein to death as Klein was behind the wheel of a Chevy Colorado pickup. Texarkana, Ark., police found Klein dead in the driver's seat with stab wounds to his face, neck and chest after responding to a call about a possible single-vehicle accident at about 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2017, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account.
The truck was found on the edge of a wooded area on the west side of the 900 block of Linden Street near the East Ninth Street Family Dollar store's parking lot. Officers found evidence that the truck had traveled across the store parking lot, over a curb and across Linden before hitting an embankment and a tree before coming to rest.
While the presence of debris and dirt piled up behind the wheels led officers to conclude that the pickup's wheels had spun after coming to rest, the truck was in park and the ignition key was missing. When detectives viewed video surveillance footage, they observed Halliburton's truck cross the Family Dollar's parking lot shortly after 1:30 a.m. and jump the curb onto Linden before traveling out of the camera's view.
Moments later, a man, allegedly identified as Halliburton, is seen walking erratically from the area where the truck hit the tree. Halliburton's image was allegedly captured on camera as he walked into the business' locked door before staggering around the parking lot for a few moments.
Using cellphones found in Halliburton's wrecked truck, investigators learned of an address in the 700 block of Main Street in Texarkana, Texas, where Halliburton was known to stay. There detectives found Halliburton sleeping on the ground near a dumpster. Halliburton was allegedly wearing the same clothing as in the surveillance video. Halliburton was allegedly wearing an empty knife sheath on his belt and had bloodstains on his shirtsleeves.
Halliburton allegedly described Klein as his "best friend" in an interview with detectives and said Klein had dropped him off shortly after midnight Nov. 26. When advised he was being arrested for Klein's murder, Halliburton allegedly said another man had struggled with Klein in the truck. Halliburton said he had to climb over the driver's seat and exit the truck via the driver's door because the passenger door wouldn't open. According to the affidavit, the passenger door of the truck was functioning normally when it was examined by police.
In an affidavit of indigency Halliburton was required to submit in order to receive a court-=appointed public defender, Halliburton listed Klein as someone who resides with him. The document was signed Jan. 30, the same day he entered a plea of not guilty to Klein's murder.
Halliburton is being held in the Miller County jail. Bail is set at $750,000. If convicted, Halliburton faces 10 to 40 years or life in an Arkansas prison.