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.
The No. 9 Gymbacks started their regionals weekend on a strong note on Friday as they placed first in the afternoon semifinal and saw two athletes earn a total of four individual regional titles.
Arkansas’ score of 197.175 was good to punch a ticket to Sunday’s regional final, the Gymbacks’ third straight appearance in the round of 16. Arkansas ultimately placed second among the eight teams across both semifinals and were one of just two 197+ marks on the day. The Gymbacks had the top scores of their session on bars (49.375) and beam (49.150) along with taking the top spot of the afternoon.
The day was highlighted by a big all-around performances from Morgan Price and Joscelyn Roberson. Price scored 9.900+ on three of four events and totaled 39.575 on the day, which held on to win her the regional all-around title, Arkansas’ first since 2018. Her 9.950 on vault was good for a four-way tie for first, also Arkansas’ first individual champion on the event since 2018. Price’s top finishes of the day were rounded out with third overall on bars and floor.
Roberson delivered her trademark consistency on beam and earned her ninth 9.950 score on the event this season, which earned her the regional crown outright. She is one of just two Gymbacks to score a 9.950 on beam at regionals, the first regional beam crown for Arkansas since 2009, and only the second ever. Her 9.925 on floor came in a three-way tie for first on the event for her second title of the day. Roberson compiled an all-around total of 39.425, which placed her in fourth overall.
Price and Roberson’s combined four titles are the most in a regional ever for Arkansas, and most since 2013.
Floor
Arkansas opened the day on floor. Hailey Klein and Leah Smith earned 9.850 scores in the first and third positions, and Allison Cucci went second with a 9.825. Scores went up from there, as Morgan Price earned a season high 9.900 up fourth for the Gymbacks. She was followed by her sister, Frankie, who scored 9.875. Roberson closed the rotation with a 9.925, which brought the team’s event score to 49.400.
Vault
Smith continued the strong start to her day with a stuck Yurchenko full that went 9.900 in the lead-off spot on vault for Arkansas. Following a 9.700 from Roberson, Klein scored 9.800 midway through the vault rotation. Lauren Williams earned a 9.775 next, and brought up Morgan Price in fifth. She put down a spectacular vault that scored 9.950, giving the Gymbacks some momentum. Cucci went 9.825 in the anchor spot and Arkansas concluded vault with a 49.250 score.
Bars
Bars began big for the Gymbacks with Roberson leading off with a 9.850 and Klein and Smith following with a pair of 9.875s. Freshmen Cucci and Avalon Campbell earned marks of 9.850 and 9.800, respectively, to keep Arkansas in a good spot. Morgan Price delivered a great routine in the sixth position that went 9.925, and the Gymbacks tallied a total of 49.375 on bars.
Beam
Arkansas closed out the meet on beam and got a nice start from lead-off Priscilla Park. She stuck her dismount and scored a 9.850 for the Gymbacks. Klein went next and delivered a 9.800 to cap her all-around day. After a 9.650 from Weaver, Cucci began to build the scores again with a 9.750. Morgan Price kept it going with a 9.800 that only featured movement on the dismount, and Roberson was next at anchor. Once again, she was nearly flawless and put a bow on the rotation with a 9.950. Arkansas’ final beam score was 49.150.
Up Next
The Gymbacks will face off with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 Missouri and Ohio State in Sunday’s regional final. The top two teams will advance to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas April 16-18. The meet is slated for 4 p.m. CT at Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live scoring via Virtius.
More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).
DeMarkco Butler is leaving Kent State after one season to become chief of staff for Arkansas State Football, sources tell FootballScoop.
Butler joined the Golden Flashes on Aug. 28, 2025, as assistant general manager and director of player personnel under then-interim head coach Mark Carney. In that role, he oversaw key aspects of football operations and player personnel management for a Kent State program that competed in the Mid-American Conference. His arrival came as the Flashes looked to stabilize and build infrastructure following coaching transitions.
A veteran of college football operations, Butler most recently served as assistant athletic director for football operations and player personnel at the University of Central Missouri, a role he held since joining the Mules in 2022. There, he managed day-to-day program logistics, player personnel duties, and acted as a liaison between the football team and university departments and external partners. His experience also includes director of football operations positions at Western Illinois University and a brief stint at Baylor University earlier in his career.
Butler played college football at Monmouth College (Ill.), earning his bachelor’s degree in communications and business with a minor in Spanish in 2010. He went on to earn a master’s degree in sport management from Western Illinois in 2016, where he began his administrative career as a graduate assistant in facilities, events, and game-day operations before advancing to an operations assistant role from 2014-15.
The move to Arkansas State represents a step up in responsibility and conference profile. As chief of staff under head coach Butch Jones, Butler will support high-level program operations in the Sun Belt Conference, working closely with the head coach on staff coordination, strategic planning, and day-to-day execution. The Red Wolves have been active in reshaping their support staff entering the 2026 season, and Butler’s background in player personnel and operations makes him a natural fit to help provide continuity and efficiency behind the scenes.
Butler’s quick ascent through operations and personnel roles highlights a career built on logistics, recruiting support, travel coordination, and building program infrastructure at multiple levels. His time at Kent State, though brief, added FBS experience to a resume that previously featured strong work at the Division II level.
Arkansas State, coming off recent staff adjustments, now adds a proven operator in Butler as it pushes forward under Jones. Sources tell FootballScoop Butler is on the job and is working with Jones in hiring additional support staff.
The move continues a trend of experienced operations and personnel specialists moving between Group of Five programs seeking greater stability and support-staff depth. Butler’s track record positions him well to contribute immediately in Jonesboro as the Red Wolves prepare for spring practices and the 2026 campaign.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Gas prices are climbing again across Arkansas, and AAA says the main driver is higher crude oil costs tied to global uncertainty.
The statewide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Arkansas is $3.52, according to the AAA Arkansas Weekend Gas Watch. That’s three cents more than this day last week and 68 cents more per gallon than this day last year.
Among the major metro areas surveyed in Arkansas, Texarkana currently has the highest average at $3.80 per gallon, while Fort Smith has the lowest at $3.25 per gallon.
Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $4.08, according to AAA Gas Prices. That’s 10 cents more compared to this day last week and 84 cents more per gallon than at this same time last year.
AAA says instability in global energy markets is pushing crude oil prices higher, which is the biggest factor in what drivers pay at the pump. Heightened tensions in the Middle East and concerns about possible supply disruptions through key shipping routes have added upward pressure to crude oil.
While current pump prices are the highest Arkansas drivers have seen since 2022, the statewide average is still below the record high of $4.54 per gallon set on June 14, 2022.
“Drivers across Arkansas are continuing to see gas prices move higher, and the main reason is the rising cost of crude oil,” said AAA spokesperson Nick Chabarria.
“With road trip travel increasing, now is a good time for drivers to build higher fuel costs into their travel budgets. The AAA Gas Cost Calculator can help motorists estimate fuel expenses before they hit the road and make it easier to plan ahead.”
AAA also shared a few fuel-saving tips for drivers looking to stretch each tank a little further:
– Drive smoothly and avoid aggressive driving, since rapid acceleration and hard braking can significantly reduce fuel economy.
– Slow down and follow the speed limit; fuel efficiency typically drops quickly at speeds above 50 mph.
– Keep tires properly inflated, because underinflated tires create more resistance and reduce fuel efficiency.
– Remove unnecessary weight from your vehicle, as extra cargo makes the engine work harder and lowers fuel economy.
– Use the AAA mobile app to find cheaper gas by locating the lowest prices nearby.
– Use AAA tools like TripTik and the AAA Gas Cost Calculator to map your trip and estimate fuel costs.
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