News/Events

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced that she is demanding information and opened an investigation in response to events detailed in last week’s article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about run-down apartment conditions at both Bella Vista Apartments and Pleasant Ridge Apartments in Little Rock.

“Landlords should want to maintain not only livable conditions in their facilities, but should ensure high quality housing opportunities for Arkansans,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “The reports given in last week’s newspaper are appalling and no one should be forced to live in unlivable conditions. I am seeking answers from both companies regarding their repair and maintenance practices at these and potentially other properties where Arkansans live and raise their children.”

It is the role of the Attorney General to investigate, research and analyze business practices and issues that affect consumer interests. The Attorney General is empowered to seek civil penalties, injunctive relief, suspension of business licenses, and attorney fees for proven violations of the law.

Citizens harmed by unsafe living conditions at Bella Vista Apartments and Pleasant Ridge Apartments in Little Rock should contact the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office at (800) 482-8982 or consumer@arkansasag.gov.

The resource guide will be available to be downloaded or ordered at ArkansasAG.gov and NeverForgotten.ar.gov.

The annual Never Forgotten – Arkansas Takes Action event is July 17 at the Benton Event Center. Registration is still open for families and law enforcement.

From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., a panel discussion will be held for the families of missing persons on available resources to assist them with locating their loved ones. Participating agencies include Arkansas Crime Information Center, Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy, Arkansas State Crime Lab, Arkansas State Police, FBI, the Morgan Nick Foundation and others.

From 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., a law enforcement training will be held. Sarah Krebs, a detective sergeant-forensic artist with the Michigan State Police, will explain how her evidence-based drawings and three-dimensional reconstructions aid in the investigation of unidentified remains, the apprehension of suspects and the resolution of missing person cases.

Officers will also hear from Derek VanLuchene, CART Program coordinator with the National Criminal Justice Training Center – AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, as well as President and Founder of Ryan United. VanLuchene will present the case study of 4-year-old Maci Lilly, who was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and was abducted from a playground in Montana in February 2016. Maci’s disappearance led to a statewide Amber Alert and a successful recovery. He will discuss working with child witnesses and how to locate resources in an active search and recovery.

From noon to 1:30 p.m., Rutledge will host a luncheon, which will include a ceremony to honor families of missing children and adults and to recognize law enforcement officials who work to solve missing persons cases.

Members of the media planning to attend should contact Jessica Ray at Jessica.Ray@arkansasag.gov or (501) 539-0955.

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced she has sent a letter to online retailers, including Amazon, Ebay and Etsy, requesting the removal of unwashed poppy seeds from online products. In May, Attorney General Rutledge released an Attorney General Alert warning of the dangers of unwashed poppy seeds and telling the story of Stephen Hacala, who died from morphine intoxication after consuming so-called poppy seed tea made from unwashed poppy seeds.

“This letter outlines the unknown dangers of unwashed poppy seeds,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Although washed poppy seeds are approved for consumption for use such as baking ingredients, unwashed poppy seeds can contain substantial amounts of morphine, codeine and thebaine, which are harmful Schedule II controlled substances.”

Earlier this year, Attorney General Rutledge met with Steve and Betty Hacala to hear the heartbreaking story of their son, Stephen. Stephen had purchased unwashed poppy seeds from Amazon to make so-called poppy seed tea, presumably with the hope of achieving the “trip” that online Amazon reviewers reference. In April 2016, Stephen was found dead in his apartment in Fayetteville with a partially used 5-pound bag of poppy seeds and a water bottle containing some of the wet seeds. An autopsy, performed by Dr. Stephen Erickson at the Arkansas State Crime Lab, revealed that Stephen Hacala died of morphine intoxication.

“We want to thank General Rutledge and her office for taking proactive actions to warn consumers and to motivate online and traditional retailers to remove unwashed poppy seeds for sale,” said Steve Hacala. “There is no legitimate use for unwashed poppy seeds, and their sale and distribution needs to be stopped to protect consumers and close another channel for users to obtain opioids. These actions will save lives.”

“I have tried to separate myself from the pain of these families for 25 years now,” Dr. Erickson said. “But when a loved one like Stephen Hacala dies, I technically become that family’s doctor. I’m just so tired of seeing the heartbreak. You shouldn’t be able to buy these things off the internet that are so dangerous and can kill you so easily.”

Attorney General Rutledge is asking these online retailers to remove all unwashed poppy seeds from their online catalogs and affiliated stores to help prevent the deaths of consumers in the future. Walmart has already taken action to no longer be part of the problem by removing unwashed poppy seeds from their shelves.

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced the launch of #MissingPersonMondays in coordination with stakeholders and law enforcement agencies from throughout Arkansas. The social media campaign will highlight one individual listed on the NeverForgotten.ar.gov site every Monday throughout the year using various social media platforms.

“Missing Person Mondays is a direct result of last year’s Never Forgotten event,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Last year, I hosted a listening session for families of missing persons to provide input and guidance on how the law enforcement community could better work with families as they deal with the difficult and emotional process of searching for their loved ones. In collaboration with many stakeholders, this social media campaign will uniformly highlight one missing person every Monday and drive traffic to the NeverForgotten.ar.gov site, where there are over 500 of our state’s missing persons listed. I strongly believe that someone, somewhere knows something about each of these missing persons cases, and this is just one of many ways we can shine light on these cases to bring information and hope to the families and law enforcement.”

Each weekly announcement will be posted on the Arkansas Attorney General’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, in addition to each of the stakeholder sites. The post will include a photograph of the missing person, the date they went missing, place last seen and the social media handle for the law enforcement agencies investigating the case. To launch the program, Anthony (Tony) Allen, the longest listed missing person from Arkansas, will be the first featured by the program and the following weeks will include other individuals in chronological order by date last seen.

In addition to the Attorney General’s Office, committee stakeholders include: Arkansas Crime Information Center, Arkansas Governor’s Office, Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy, Arkansas State Crime Lab, Arkansas State Police, Criminal Justice Institute, FBI, Morgan Nick Foundation, NamUs, David Clark and Henry La Mar.

For more information on missing persons in Arkansas, please visit NeverForgotten.ar.gov.