Judge Robin Carroll oversaw a lengthy criminal docket on Tuesday, April 20 in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Division 4 court. The court session was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom.
Tristen Waller, who was arrested in June 2019 and charged alongside co-defendant Chancin Hooks with capital murder and attempted capital murder in the death of 27-year-old Brandon Parker, appeared before the court last Tuesday with defense attorney Sylvester Smith.
Smith affirmed that the currently set dates of May 18 for an omnibus hearing and June 1-4 for the trial are still acceptable to the defense and resubmitted a motion to remove or reduce Waller’s bond.
Carroll again denied the motion to reduce bond.
Hooks was listed on the docket but did not appear before the court Tuesday.
Randy Lamar Miller, one of the victims in the capital murder and attempted capital murder charges facing Waller and Hooks, also appeared on the docket, though he too did not appear before the court.
Miller faces charges including simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of a firearm by certain persons, hindering apprehension or prosecution, possession of a controlled substance with the purpose to deliver and tampering with physical evidence, charges that occurred during the investigation following Parker’s murder.
According to court records, Union County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators responded to a call on June 5, 2019 in reference to two men - Parker and Miller - suffering from gunshot wounds at a ProMed Ambulance Service location on Strong Highway. Paramedics advised officers that Parker was in critical condition and he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
Miller spoke to police after receiving treatment, reportedly writing down his statements because he was unable to speak due to injuries. Initially, Miller told investigators that he and Parker met with Waller and Hooks to purchase drugs and were later called back to the location and subsequently ambushed with gunfire, according to court records. Miller reportedly told investigators that he returned fire from the passenger seat of Parker’s vehicle.
Miller’s charges resulted from alleged inconsistencies in his statements to police, failure to produce a firearm allegedly used during the incident and his admission to investigators that he and Parker were the “sellers” of the drugs in the incident rather than the buyers, as was originally stated, record say.