Grand Jury Indicts State Trooper

(BENTONVILLE) - Saying she "feels like the people have spoken" Benton County Prosecutor Robin Green today announced that a grand jury had decided to indict State Trooper Larry Norman on a count of negligent homicide in the shooting death of 21-year-old Erin Hamley of Springdale on March 7th. The shooting happened that morning alongside Highway 412 outside of Tontitown. Police say they mistook Hamley for escaped Michigan prison inmate Adam Leadford, who police captured later the same day. During a news conference outside the prosecutor`s office Thursday afternoon, Green said that the grand jury made the decision after watching hours of videotaped testimony from Norman and other troopers at the scene of the shooting. Norman`s attorney accompanied him to the Benton County jail where Norman turned himself in. The charges are a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum one year in jail and $1000 dollar fine on conviction. Green says jurors had many questions to answer -- one of which included a question about Trooper Norman`s in-car AM/FM radio, and whether Norman had that turned up loudly enough he couldn`t properly hear dispatchers the day of the shooting. Jurors also had to determine if the round that killed Hamley first hit pavement before hitting Hamley`s body. The last Grand Jury in the County convened in 1980, and intereviewed 35 "live" witnesses. Norman goes to court again for an arraignment in Judge David Clinger`s court May 22nd at 8 A.M.