On January 30th and 31st, 2024, Circuit Judge Harry Gregory Foster presided over the Searcy County jury trial of Gene Edwar McCutcheon.  McCutcheon had been arrested and charged in 2023 with Aggravated Assault, Simultaneous Possession of Drugs and Firearms, Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons, Possession of Methamphetamine or Cocaine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Fleeing and Habitual Offender. 

After hearing testimony from the victim in the case, Searcy County Sheriff's deputies, the Arkansas State Crime Lab, and witnesses for the defense, the two-day trial ended with the jury sentencing McCutcheon to 31 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction.  McCutcheon remains in custody at the Searcy County Detention Center, as he awaits transports to the Department of Correction.

Deputy Prosecutors Chad Brown and Raegan Massey Hare argued the case for the State of Arkansas.