Lane Named New Benton Police Chief

Aug 22, 1987: 17 year old Kevin Ives & 16 year old Don Henry set out deer-hunting. Just after 4am they were both hit by a Union-Pacific train. The train was heading north with a 3 man crew: Conductor Jerry Tomlin; Engineer Stephen Shroyer & Brakeman Danny DeLamar. They crested Bryant's Hill at Alexander, descended into the bottomlands below; passed a crossing & approached a trestle over Crooked Creek, noticing a dark spot on the rails ahead of them. All 3 were trying to make out what it was. About 100 yards away, they realized it was 2 young men & a rifle laying on the tracks. The boys were covered by a tarp from waist to knee. Shroyer hit the emergency brake & the train whistle. The boys were laying with their heads against the west rail, facing up with their feet over the east rail, arms by their sides. Shroyer could not absorb the calmness of the boys as death hurtled loudly toward them. Neither boy jerked, opened his eyes or moved a muscle. Suddenly the train hit the boys, then stopped ½ mile from when the emergency brake was applied. Shroyer stayed on the train while Tomlin & DeLamar walked about 32 cars back & found the first body part. The remaining body parts were strewn over a ¼ mile area. Both men noticed that the blood was darker than fresh blood ought to be. Dpty Chuck Tallent & Lt Ray Richmond from the Saline Co. Sheriff Department arrived at 4:40am, 13 minutes after the crew reported the collision. Despite the crew's information, the deputies insisted on treating the scene as an accident. Conductor Tomlin observed, "One boy not moving--maybe. But two? I have some trouble with that." Hours earlier, State Trooper Wayne Lainhart had investigated a report of 2 gunshots in the area & found nothing. He responded to the train collision & was surprised at the disinterest of the deputies in the possibility of murder. He mentioned this & noted that he doubted the deaths were an accident.(continued) The responding EMTs agreed, saying that the color of the blood & internal organs suggested the boys died much earlier. Lt. Richmond said to treat the deaths as a traffic accident, requiring no autopsies, so the bodies were sent to a funeral home. Within hours Deputy Tallent changed his mind & had them sent to the state crime lab where Medical Examiner Fahmy Malak ruled cause of death as accidental or suicide due to marijuana use. He was resolutely supported by Governor Bill Clinton. The bodies were exhumed & reautopsied by a pathologist from Atlanta who concluded Kevin had been beaten with a rifle butt that crushed his skull & Don died from being stabbed repeatedly with a survival knife - murder. Ronnie Godwin, a witness at Ranchette Grocery saw 2 police officers beat up 2 boys. He pulled behind a row of cargo trailers & watched. The officers continued the beating & threw the boys into the back of their unmarked vehicle & drove up a dead-end road to Alexander Mtn. About 15 minutes later the officers returned & drove off in the direction of the railroad tracks. Mr. Godwin refused to confirm or deny the identities of the officers as Kirk Lane & Jay Campbell. Another witness, known as Jerry, saw the same scene. He reported it & was promptly arrested for failure to pay child support, held for ninety days, released & told to leave town. He did.

BENTON your New Police Chief seems to be an evil little man.

Did we put another Danny into office. There will be hell to pay in Benton!
Wasn't this guy a big wig at Pulaski County Sheriff?Didn't the city check him out?

i knew don henry. we used to ride 3 wheelers when he would come down to macedonia to his grandmothers in the summers. what i'd like to know is, what happened to his sister gayla? i went to school with thier first cousin jason but i have never had the guts to ask him about her, he still dont like to talk about it and neither does mr. curtis which is understadable. reason i ask is, i read the book by mara leverett and it looks to me like gayla would be the key in solving the case but mr.curtis wouldnt let anyone question her or let them know her whereabouts.
i periodicly check the idfiles website for updates but havent seen any in a long time. does anyone here know any new news on the case? please keep the families in your prayers, thier pain will never go away.

oh, btw, is danny harmon still living and working up there?

nobody?

i guess people are still to scared to talk about this this. i dont blame you. thanks anyway.

and now his former cohort has been let outta jail in lonoke. whats next, danny harmon running for governer? theres just no justice in arkansas

knowing Danny very well I will assure you that he is a far better man than Lane. Lane is Evil and no they didnt do any digging before they did any hiring. They know what is up with Kirt, its just everyone who knows whats up with the Boys and all the other dirt that was done 20 yrs ago well they are almost all dead and gone. They newbies that are in office now think that supporting the evil will produce advancement for themselves. I hate Saline Co.'s judicial system. Its cracked out and fucked up! Somethings never change....

curious in magnolia wrote:

oh, btw, is danny harmon still living and working up there?

No not working but is still around