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Rutledge Announces October Mobile Office Schedule
Thu, Sep 26, 2019LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced mobile office locations for October.
Attorney General Rutledge created this initiative during her first year in office to increase office accessibility for all Arkansans, particularly to those who live outside the capital city. Office hours were held in all 75 counties each year during her first term, assisting 3,300 Arkansans. In 2019, Attorney General Mobile Offices have already served over 1,600 Arkansans.
Rutledge believes face-to-face conversations are the best way to truly hear from Arkansans. The Attorney General Mobile Offices assist Arkansans with consumer related issues by filing consumer complaints against scam artists as well as answering questions about the office and the other services it offers to constituents.
Rutledge continues her partnerships with the Cooperative Extension Service and local law enforcement across Arkansas. Law enforcement officials will be on hand to collect unused and expired prescription medications to ensure they are secured and properly disposed. Arkansans are encouraged to bring their old, unused or expired prescription medications to an upcoming mobile office. During Rutledge’s first term, over 618 pounds of medications were collected at mobile offices. Another 168 pounds of medications have been collected so far this year.
For more information about services provided by the Attorney General’s office, visit ArkansasAG.gov or call (501) 682-2007. Rutledge can also be found on Facebook at facebook.com/AGLeslieRutledge and on Twitter at twitter.com/AGRutledge.
The upcoming mobile office schedule is below:
Lawrence County
Thursday, October 3
10:30 a.m. to noon
Walnut Ridge Community Center
504 Southern Avenue
Walnut Ridge, AR 72476
Pike County
Tuesday, October 8
10 to 11:30 a.m.
Glenwood Senior Activity Center
229 Betty Street
Glenwood, AR 71943
Newton County
Thursday, October 10
10 to 11:30 a.m.
Newton County Senior Activity & Wellness Center
100 East Clark Street
Jasper, AR 72641
Desha County
Tuesday, October 15
10 to 11:30 a.m.
McGehee Senior Center
900 West Oak Street
McGehee, AR 71654
Sevier County
Thursday, October 17
10 to 11:30 a.m.
De Queen Senior Citizen Center
605 East Haes Avenue
De Queen, AR 71832
Montgomery County
Tuesday, October 22
10 to 11:30 a.m.
Mount Ida Senior Activity Center
158 Senior Drive
Mount Ida, AR 71957
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Rutledge: 40 Year Plea for Little Rock Man
Tue, Sep 17, 2019Axelroth was in possession of 280 files of sexually explicit video files
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced a Little Rock man, Justin Axelroth, pleaded guilty of four counts of child pornography and was sentenced to 40 years.
“I have zero tolerance for these child predators who will use technology to satisfy their sick minds,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I will do everything in my power to root out these evil people.”
In May 2018, Justin Axelroth, 40, of Little Rock, was arrested by the Attorney General’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit for distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class C felony. Special agents in the Attorney General’s Office seized multiple computers, external hard drives and cell phones from the home. Files acquired from these devices showed that between January 15, 2018, and March 31, 2018, Axelroth obtained approximately 280 files containing videos of children between the ages of four and eleven being sexually abused by adult men.
Axelroth pleaded guilty in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Fourth Division, and was sentenced by Judge Herb Wright. Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley appointed Deputy Attorney General Will Jones and Assistant Attorney General Jill Irwin as special deputy prosecuting attorneys in the case. Axelroth will serve his sentence in the Arkansas Department of Correction.
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Rutledge Announces Two Vaping Summits at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Bentonville High School
Tue, Sep 17, 2019Says, ‘use of e-cigarettes among teens and preteens has hit a fever pitch’
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced the State’s first Youth Vaping Summits will be held Monday, October 7 at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock and Wednesday, October 9 at Bentonville High School with support from the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS). The Summits are open to the public, particularly educators, parents, healthcare providers, lawmakers and law enforcement eager to gain educational information to assist and protect Arkansans from the dangers of e-cigarettes.
“The rampant use of e-cigarettes among teens and preteens has hit a fever pitch in recent months and while all health risks are not yet known, we have already seen too many young people harmed from ingesting these powerful products,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Through education, enforcement, consumer protection and legislation, we must protect our youth from nicotine addiction and severe health risks.”
The first Vaping Summit will be held in Little Rock at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hall on October 7, and the second will be at Bentonville High School on October 9. Speakers for each event will include doctors representing UAMS, educators, legislators and representatives from the Attorney General’s Office.
For more information or to register for the Youth Vaping Summit at either location, call the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office at 800-482-8982 or visit ArkansasAG.gov.
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Rutledge: North Little Rock Residents Sued for Deed Fraud
Mon, Sep 16, 2019Neill Reed and Jeric Goodrum have stolen homes and property using fraudulent deeds
LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today filed suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court against Neill Reed and Jeric Goodrum of North Little Rock, for violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Reed and Goodrum tried to manipulate Arkansas’s tax-delinquent property sale procedures by illegally filing forged deeds in order to steal property from rightful owners and then sell the property to unsuspecting consumers.
“These fraudulent actions are costly for their victims, and in some circumstances rob children, grandchildren and families of property that should be their rightful inheritance,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “These scams hurt hard-working Arkansans, and these fraudsters must be stopped.”
Defendants Reed and Goodrum begin the scam by locating publicly-listed tax-delinquent properties that were soon to be auctioned by the Commissioner of State Lands. Once they identify a particular tax-delinquent piece of property they want to acquire, and without the true owner’s knowledge or consent, they forge a quitclaim deed that indicates that the record owner of the property transferred their interests to Defendants. Defendants record the forged document in a county’s property records and then sell the stolen property for a price that may be thousands of dollars below the property’s actual value to unsuspecting third parties. The scam often goes unnoticed until the true owner tries to pay the taxes and reclaim the property.
The investigation was assisted by staff for the Commissioner of State Lands, Tommy Land. The suit seeks an injunction; an order imposing civil penalties; restitution for affected consumers; the suspension or forfeiture of franchises, corporate charters, licenses, permits and authorizations to do business in Arkansas and other relief against Reed and Goodrum.
Attorney General Rutledge is requesting restitution, civil penalties, and injunctive relief and demands a jury trial. Victims of these business practices should file a consumer complaint on ArkansasAG.gov or call (800) 482-8982.
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Rutledge Announces 2019 Law Enforcement Summit Agenda
Thu, Sep 12, 2019Focus on medical marijuana and eyewitness identification
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced the agenda for the 17th Arkansas Law Enforcement Summit, which will be held on Oct. 1 at the Benton Event Center in Benton. The annual event is a free training and educational opportunity for Arkansas’s law enforcement community, including officers, prosecutors and criminal justice personnel.
“This year’s Law Enforcement Summit will address concerns that have arisen in the wake of the legalization of medical marijuana as well as ensuring proper eyewitness identification in criminal cases,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I encourage all officers to register so they can learn from these insightful presenters.”
The summit will hear from Norwood, Massachusetts, Police Chief William Brooks III discussing eyewitness identification. According to studies, it is estimated that approximately 70 percent of people who are wrongfully convicted in our nation are convicted based on erroneous eyewitness identification. He presents nationally on behalf of the Innocence Project and was the 2012 recipient of the Innocence Network’s Champion of Justice Award.
The afternoon will include a presentation from David Blake, Chris Halsor and Cory Amend from Colorado. They will address the many challenges with legal marijuana for law enforcement including issues involving possession, cultivation, distribution, transportation and driving under the influence.
During a noon luncheon, Rutledge will recognize one outstanding law enforcement officer from each county in addition to regional and statewide award winners.
Rutledge will also welcome Lauren Wagner, who will speak on Online Investigations: Tools, Tips, and Tricks. She provides technical assistance to law enforcement agencies in active cases, prepares training curricula, teaches SEARCH investigative courses and speaks at conferences throughout the United States.
Assistant Attorney General Jill Irwin will present on Monsters Behind the Machines, which will look into some of the cases that have been investigated by the Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Division.
Registration is open and available at ArkansasAG.gov.