Arkansas
Arkansas judge convicted of lying to feds about seeking sex with defendant’s girlfriend
A jury found Thomas David Carruth guilty of making false statements to the FBI about using his position to seek sexual favors from a woman whose boyfriend had a case before the Monroe County District.
Wilson County jailer arrested for misconduct
Former Wilson County corrections officer Melissa Dionne faces charges of sexual contact with an inmate and official misconduct.
A former Arkansas judge was found guilty of lying to federal investigators about trying to extort a defendant’s girlfriend for sex or a “lingerie show,” the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
A jury found Thomas David Carruth guilty of making false statements to the FBI about using his position to seek sexual favors from a woman whose boyfriend had a case before the Monroe County District Court elected judge. The woman secretly recorded the judge’s comments and turned the tape over to the FBI.
The woman Carruth failed to extort recorded his not-so-subtle solicitations and shared them with law enforcement, according to a federal indictment in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
“I got one area I want to explore with you,” Carruth tells her in the recording when discussing how to help her boyfriend with his case according to the indictment, “and I don’t know how you’re gonna react. Um… how do you feel about sex?”
The recording stands in stark contrast to the former judge’s statements to the FBI that he didn’t “even [think] about” sex with the woman.
The former judge already had a tainted record: The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission admonished Carruth in 2018 for creating the appearance of impropriety after an inquiry into allegations similar to those of the woman who recorded Carruth asking her for sex.
Carruth faces a maximum of five years in prison for the charge. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled. The 64-year-old was acquitted of charges of bribery, honest services fraud, and violations of the Travel Act, according to the Justice Department.
He was first arrested and charged in January 2023, officials said. Carruth resigned sometime after the FBI raided his house in June 2023, according to reporting by The Monroe County Argus.
Jeffrey M. Rosenzweig, Carruth’s attorney, thanked the jury in response to a request for comment.
“We are grateful for the jury’s wisdom in seeing through the duplicative and tenuous charges that the government chose to bring,” Rosenzweig said. “We recognize that the jury thought through the decision to convict on the one charge, although we respectfully disagree with the result they reached.”
‘Do you have any nice lingerie?’
The 28-minute phone recording on April 18, 2022, of the woman’s conversation with the judge shows a matter-of-fact approach to sexual extortion.
She had approached him about a separate issue when he offered to help with her boyfriend’s criminal case, according to an indictment.
The man was hoping for an early trial date to make sure he didn’t violate a parole order and Carruth offered to oblige if he got something in return.
“I’d prefer not [to] have to in order to get this done,” the woman told the judge when he broached the topic of sex, court papers say.
“”The next step back,” he said on the recording, “is… do you have any nice lingerie?”
Carruth persisted when she refused to give a “lingerie show”: “What you’re buying is we’re going to try to shorten those timeframes,” he said, referring to the man’s trial, according to court documents.
She shared the tape with law enforcement and when contacted by the FBI, Carruth flatly denied seeking sex with the woman, saying he didn’t “even [think] about” sex with her, the Justice Department said.
Tainted record
Carruth’s dealings with women have been suspect since shortly after he was first elected to the post in 2012.
Less than 10,000 people live in Monroe County, a rural jurisdiction about 90 miles east of Little Rock, and in such small towns it’s not uncommon for people with business at the courthouse to approach the judge, the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission wrote in its 2018 admonishment of Carruth.
Under the small town circumstances, the commission expects judges to be particularly vigilant to avoid discussing court business inappropriately but Carruth was accused of doing so for years, the commission wrote.
The admonishment does not detail the extrajudicial discussions but according to the federal indictment they involved seeking sex from women who had cases before him.
Carruth denied the allegations but the commission admonished him for conduct that allowed such a cloud of suspicion to arise in the first place.
“Even assuming the truth of your assertion, the number, times and circumstances of your contacts created an appearance of impropriety,” the commission wrote. “The judiciary cannot exist without the trust and confidence of the people. The confidence is maintained when judges endeavor to follow the Code of Judicial Conduct while they remain faithful to the law.”
The commission decided not to sanction Carruth beyond making the admonishment public.
BROOKLYN — Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff is the first of three Razorbacks off the board in the 2026 NBA Draft Tuesday night when he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round.
Acuff’s selection makes him the highest drafted player from Arkansas since 2023 when Anthony Black went No. 6 overall to the Orlando Magic.
He went into the night projected to be the first player from the Hogs taken following a phenomenal freshman year that saw him earn first team All-American honors, SEC Player of the Year, league freshman of the year, and SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Likely his biggest accomplishment was becoming the first player to lead the SEC in points and assists since Pete Maravich in 1970.
As a freshman, Acuff averaged over 24 points, six assists and three rebounds on 48% shooting from the field, 44% from three and 81% from free throw line.
His knack as a bucket getter and facilitator lifted the Razorbacks to a different level in the postseason by averaging an astonishing 30 points, seven assists and one steal across six postseason tournament games.
He led Arkansas to a victory over Vanderbilt for the SEC Tournament Championship and back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances.
Arguably his best performance of the season came in a double-overtime classic in Tuscaloosa against Alabama when he dropped 49 points on 16-of-27 from the floor, 6-of-10 from three and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He also contributed with five rebounds, five assists and only one turnover in 50 minutes.
And don’t forget, the 6-foot-2, 186 pound point guard did all of that on a bum ankle he sustained against Aubrn just four days prior.
During a media appearance on ESPN last week, Calipari made sure to warn NBA teams they will regret passing on superstar point guard.
“A great teammate. We all hear stuff. I’m around these kids, all they want to do is get better. They want to respect who’s coaching them,” Calipari told Colin Cowherd on The Herd. “And Darius Acuff, I’m telling you, there’s going to be some guys regretting [not picking him.]
“That’s okay. That’s okay. When he starts playing, you’ll remember this conversation, and we’re saying, ‘You’re going to regret not taking him.’”
Acuff is the latest in a growing list of coach John Calipari guards to be selected as lottery picks across his four decades in the college game. Former Kentucky stars Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, John Wall, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox and Brandon Knight.
During his time at Memphis, Calipari helped Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and Dajuan Wagner were each lotter picks from 2000-2009.
The 2026 NBA Draft will continue with its second round Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT from the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Coach Cal Reaction
There haven’t been many times over the years that Calipari has missed out on watching one of his stars stroll across the stage to shake hands with the NBA Commissioner.
The second-year Razorbacks coach told the world Tuesday night that the Kings will be getting a “fierce competitor and winner” in Acuff.
With NBA Lottery pick and Sacramento Kings Guard Darius Acuff Jr!!! Congratulations to the entire family! The Kings are getting a fierce competitor and winner https://t.co/pk7T9H8e8b
— John Calipari (@CoachCalArk) June 24, 2026
Being drafted by Sacramento shouldn’t come as a surprise either as most mock drafts pegged him at No. 7 overall since the beginning of the college basketball offseason. With so many connections to the franchise, the Kings’ organization might be the perfect fit after all as General manager Scott Perry coached his father two decades ago at Eastern Kentucky.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) – Registration is open for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s annual urban deer hunt.
This year’s hunts will be held in Cherokee Village, Fairfield Bay, Heber Springs, Helena-West Helena, Horseshoe Bend and Russellville.
The archery-only hunts are designed to offer an “inexpensive and effective method of nuisance deer management,” according to an AGFC news release.
Deer harvested during the urban hunts do not count toward a hunter’s seasonal limit, and there are no limits to the number of deer that can be harvested.
However, the first deer taken must be donated to Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry, which provides ground meat to food pantries across the state.
Hunters must pass the International Bowhunters Education Program before participating. The program is available at www.agfc.com/education/hunter-education.
Hunters also must attend orientation to learn the specific rules of the hunts and pass a shooting proficiency test.
For more information, visit www.agfc.com/urbanhunt.
To report a typo or correction, please click here.
Copyright 2026 KAIT. All rights reserved.
The Arkansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Monday, June 22, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 22 drawing
17-19-21-45-48, Powerball: 13, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 22 drawing
Midday: 8-6-8
Evening: 4-9-7
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 22 drawing
Midday: 4-4-6-9
Evening: 6-4-1-4
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Natural State Jackpot numbers from June 22 drawing
07-17-23-28-32
Check Natural State Jackpot payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 22 drawing
07-08-20-24-42, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Arkansas Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash 3 Midday: 12:59 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- Cash 3 Evening: 6:59 p.m. CT daily.
- Cash 4 Midday: 12:59 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- Cash 4 Evening: 6:59 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Natural State Jackpot: 8 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- LOTTO: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arkansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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