Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – September 19, 2024 – Former deputy prosecuting attorney and presumed Circuit Judge-elect Doug Brimhall entered a negotiated plea of guilty to Harassment (Section 5-71-208), a Class A misdemeanor, before special appointed retired Circuit Judge Robert Edwards in Craighead County Circuit Court today.
Brimhall was arrested May 21 on suspicion of aggravated assault on a family or household member and domestic battery-3rd degree. Today’s plea agreement dismissed one of the charges and amended the other to harassment.
Edwards accepted the negotiated plea agreement. The judge sentenced Brimhall to one-year suspended imposition of sentence, ordered him to continue an alcohol/drug rehabilitation program and anger management program as instructed, continue with a program administered by the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program Foundation (JLAP Foundation), complete forty hours of community service before December 31, 2024, prohibited from drinking alcohol to excess, pay a $1,000 fine plus $190 in court costs, and write a letter of apology to the victim by October 1, 2024. The agreement also releases a “no contact” order that has been in effect since charges were filed. Visitation and family contact will be controlled by a guardianship that is now in effect according to the agreement.
If the suspended sentence is revoked for any reason Brimhall could be sentenced to up to one year in the county jail and fined up to $1,500.
Brimhall was represented by attorneys Bill Stanley, Randel Miller and Paul Ford. Stanley released a statement following today’s hearing: “Mr. Brimhall chose to resolve this matter today by pleading to a misdemeanor charge of harassment and believes it is in the overall best interest of his family. He looks forward to reconciliation of all damaged relationships and further requests that the privacy of his entire family – on both sides of this matter – be respected. Mr. Brimhall looks forward to taking the bench and fulfilling his obligations and responsibilities that this community elected him to fulfill.”
Brimhall defeated Blytheville attorney Curtis Walker, Jr. in the March 2024 election for Circuit Judge District 2, Division 4. His term begins in 2025.
Previously:
Doug Brimhall resigns Deputy Prosecutor position – Jonesboro Right Now
Confirmed: there is a “Brimhall matter” – Jonesboro Right Now
Circuit Judge-elect Doug Brimhall arrested – Jonesboro Right Now