Update: Austin McCollum posted $157,500 and walked out of the Benton County Jail today.
He has an ankle monitor. No contact with his wife. 1,500 feet from her home, work, and church. 350 feet from the kids’ daycare.
Crazy.
He’s still running unopposed on the Nov. 3 ballot for Benton County judge.
Arkansas, explain this to me like I’m five.
Austin McCollum is the only name on the Nov. 3 ballot for Benton County judge. Not a courtroom judge. The county’s top executive.
Arrested Aug. 1 on three felonies after his wife said he assaulted her. Pleaded not guilty. Arrested again Sept. 29 for felony stalking and violating a protection order.
Monday a judge ruled he willfully broke the no-contact order. One bond went from $10,000 to $75,000. The $150,000 cash-only bond still stands. He’s still in the Benton County jail. Next court date is Dec. 1.
And the state says nothing in the law stops him from taking that office in January unless he’s convicted.
Accused is not convicted. He gets his day in court. But Benton County should not be finding out in January whether its county judge is running the county from a cell. The man already in the job has asked him not to take the oath so the quorum court can appoint someone else.