Two charged with murder of Brock cousins

Two men have been charged with capitol murder in connection with the Aug. 9 brutal homicide of cousins Lonnie and Bobby Brock at the east Faulkner County home they shared.

Ronald Dean Charles, 31, and Troy Allen Crook, 29, of Cabot and Jacksonville, respectively, have been charged with two counts each of capital murder, aggravated robbery and theft of property. The two are also charged with one count each of possession of a firearm by certain persons and Crook is charged with parole violation.

Charles

Lt. Matt Rice of the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office Major Crime Unit said Crook was almost immediately identified as a person of interest in the case. On Aug. 10, FCSO investigators located Crook at his home, 2711 Moro Lane, Jacksonville.

"We basically went to talk to him," Rice said.

As it happened, Crook had active warrants for seemingly unrelated incidents in Little Rock and North Little Rock and was also wanted for parole violation. He was arrested on Aug. 10 for these violations, Rice said, not for reasons related to the Aug. 9 murders.

Crook

Charles was arrested Monday at his home, 45 Oak Meadows, Cabot, on Monday.

Lt. Matt Rice of the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office Major Crime Unit declined to comment on details of the investigation but said the pieces fell into place after conducting interviews with family members and other parties and taking into account "a great deal of evidence" found at the crime scene.

"Thanks to the family and friends and a lot of folks that we talked to, we were able to go with their statements," Rice said. "We pieced it together, along with the physical evidence, and it all fits together, so we took it to the Faulkner County prosecutor."

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The prosecutor in this case is Marcus Vaden.

"Matt Rice and the others involved have done a tremendous job," Vaden said. "The things that they've done through witness statements, interviews and the physical evidence have provided us a lot to go to the jury with."

Under Arkansas law, conviction on a capital murder charge can carry the death penalty or life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Vaden said his office has not yet decided whether the death penalty will be pursued for either suspect.

Faulkner County coroner Patrick Moore said the injuries that killed Lonnie and Bobby Brock, 62 and 45, respectively, indicate that the two cousins were beaten and then shot.

"It was a brutal beating," Moore said. "The blunt-force trauma would undoubtedly have killed them and then both were shot in the head."

Division II Circuit Judge David Reynolds denied both men bond Wednesday. Pretrial for both suspects has been set for Aug. 28.

(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached by e-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)