Carroll County Judge David Writer issued a public apology on Tuesday, Feb. 3, to a Eureka Springs man who says Writer threatened his life during a confrontation after a county quorum court meeting on Jan. 20.
“I would like to extend an apology to Eric Scheunemann and the people of Carroll County,” Writer said in a written statement.
“Between roads, wind turbines and other issues, conversations can become heated and accusatory,” Writer continued.
“I sincerely apologize that the conversation got out of hand and look forward to continuing to serve the good people of Carroll County, as we all strive to make it an even better place to call home,” Writer said.
Scheunemann alleges that Writer told him: “I’ll kill you, you son of a b****,” at the end of a heated exchange after the Jan. 20 quorum court meeting in the courtroom of the Eastern District Courthouse in Berryville.
Writer’s statement did not address the specific language alleged by Scheunemann, nor did it acknowledge or deny that Writer made a threat.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Scheunemann called Writer’s statement “a positive sign,” but added that the rule of law must be upheld.
“Forgiveness is essential in any communication,” Scheunemann said. “However, we have laws to uphold.”
Meanwhile, Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson last week ordered that a special prosecutor be appointed in the case. Jackson’s order came after Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Rogers filed a motion requesting a special prosecutor. Rogers’ motion cited a conflict of interest, since the prosecutors’ office represents elected officials in the county.
The confrontation between Writer and Scheunemann was recorded by a county video camera inside the courtroom.
The camera does not record audio and the video couldn’t be downloaded because of a hardware issue. The Eureka Springs Times-Echo was allowed to view and record the video in Writer’s office on Friday, Jan. 30, after filing a request under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The video, taken from the front of the courtroom, shows Scheunemann seated on the second row of pews from the front, on the right, speaking with a man wearing a yellow cap.
Writer approaches from Scheunemann’s right and begins speaking with Scheunemann, who rises to his feet about 15 seconds into the interaction.
Writer gestures with his hands for several seconds as Scheunemann appears to listen. Writer then puts his left hand on his hip and leans onto the pew in front of him with his right hand. Scheunemann appears to become more animated as the conversation continues, then both men gesture with their hands.
State Sen. Bryan King and Carroll County deputy prosecuting attorney Steven Simmons, who had been speaking in the row directly in front of Writer and Scheunemann, begin to exit that pew as Writer continues speaking and gesturing.
At one point, Writer and Scheunemann turn their backs to the camera and appear to be looking at documents. After several seconds, both men turn back toward the camera and Scheunemann points his finger and jabs at the air as if emphasizing a point. Writer then steps toward Scheunemann before backing away quickly as Scheunemann raises his right arm and points in Writer’s direction. The entire interaction lasts 35 to 40 seconds.
Scheunemann released a written statement after the incident, saying he was speaking with a reporter from a Harrison newspaper about an ongoing dispute related to maintenance of Spring Valley Road when Writer approached.
“Suddenly, a man started talking directly in front of me between the row of benches, so I said to the reporter, ‘Excuse me please,’ ” Scheunemann wrote. “I turned to find that Judge David Writer was looking down at me telling me to make an appointment, and going on again. Not feeling comfortable with him over me, I stand up slightly to the left and face him squarely. I replied that: ‘Your first excuse was ‘bad weather’ — that other roads were more important — which failed when a drought came.’ He denied it.
“I said, ‘You are lying,’ I then said, ‘Another excuse for not grading the road was that the bottom 127 feet or something was private.’ He corrected me and said, ‘That’s right, the bottom 167 feet is private.’ I said, ‘Well, then you said the whole thing is private, and you didn’t grade any of it.’ He said, ‘That’s right, the whole thing.’
“I said, ‘Well there you go, you’re lying again. First you said that the first 167 feet is private, then you said the whole thing is private. You’re lying right now.’
“David Writer then stepped up to me with his belly pressing against mine, his face just inches from my face, ‘I’ll kill you. You son of a b****.’ I stared at him, without a word. He turned and walked back to the aisle.
“I turned to the reporter, still seated behind me and said, ‘Did you hear that?’
“He said, ‘I did.’ I said, ‘You have an amazing headline for the newspaper. He said, ‘I’ll kill you. You son of a b****.’ The reporter said, ‘Yes, I heard him say that. I have a recorder. It’s a bit noisy in here now, so it may not have recorded it, but I heard what he said.’ ” Scheunemann wrote that he told a deputy sheriff who was in the courtroom that he wanted to make a report that Writer had threatened him and the deputy advised Scheunemann of the hours when the sheriff’s office would be open the next day and told him he should speak with someone there. The deputy then pointed Scheunemann toward the door, according to Scheunemann’s statement.
Scheunemann said he had also provided copies of his written statement to the sheriff’s office and the Berryville Police Department.
Carroll County Sheriff Daniel Klatt referred questions to the Berryville Police Department. Berryville police chief Robert Bartos said last week he could not comment on an ongoing investigation. Bartos said Monday, Feb. 2, that the investigation remains officially open pending the appointment of a special prosector who will determine whether to file charges.
Writer said last week that he could not comment.
Scheunemann said Wednesday that he has not spoken with Writer since the incident and has not gotten an update on the status of the investigation.
During the quorum court meeting that preceded the incident, Scheunemann attempted to speak during public comments, saying he was “here to discuss the abandonment of Spring Valley Road …” Writer interrupted Scheunemann after approximately 30 seconds.
“This is something that really doesn’t concern these JPs,” Writer said. “You need to make an appointment with my office and come and talk to me.”
“I have done so, sir,” Scheunemann replied.
“Yes, you have and you’re supposed to — listen, you didn’t come back at the appropriate time,” Writer said as Scheunemann tried to respond. “You tried to go around me to go to the prosecutor and everybody else. You didn’t even let me — look, I said: ‘If you’ll come back, if you let me have a little time to look at this and see, get the documentation, get everything. And you didn’t come back. You went, you tried to go around me. So just make an appointment with my office and we’ll try to get this …” “Sir, I’d like to start over my three minutes,” Scheunemann said at that point. “No,” Writer responded. “No.”
“I am petitioning the government for redress of grievances, sir,” Scheunemann said. “You’re violating my rights.”
“No,” Writer said. “Yes, sir,” Scheunemann responded.
Bystanders seated in the courtroom interjected briefly, saying: “You have an oath. Uphold it.”
Writer then said: “Listen, this is not an issue for the quorum court. This is a road issue. If you had have listened, if you would have come back and listened to me …” “I did,” Scheunemann said.
“No, you did not,” Writer replied.
“Yes, sir. You’re lying again,” Scheunemann said.
“You did not, and I’m not going to argue with you,” Writer said. “Go sit down.”
“I have three minutes,” Scheunemann responded.
“Go sit down,” Writer repeated.
“No, sir,” Scheunemann answered. “I have the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.”
At that point, two sheriff’s deputies left their seats in the courtroom’s jury box and approached Scheunemann, who returned to his seat. The deputies remained standing at the back of the courtroom for the remainder of the meeting.
“You can come and talk to me,” Writer said. “That’s what you can do.”
Scheunemann said there is a “bigger issue here that is being missed, which is that not a single one of them is following the law. “Every single one of them had deferred the leadership in disregard of their oath of office, their Pledge of Allegiance to the republic, the evidence, the laws of the state of Arkansas,” Scheunemann said. “The judge threw all those out, called those lies … and literally threw out the citizen who was lawfully petitioning the government for redress of grievances within the rules of the meeting. I had three minutes. I was recognized and so forth. I was not disrespectful whatsoever. There was no grounds for my removal.”
Scheunemann continued, saying: “The judge had no evidence. He had no law. That road has been maintained for decades and the man that had the leadership, that had no law, no evidence and threw the citizen out in front of everyone. They followed him in absolute disregard of their oaths of office, and that’s a much bigger issue. Actually, that’s the primary issue. The secondary issue is the death threat and the third issue is the road — the little molehill that’s been turned into a mountain.”
The confrontation at the Jan. 20 meeting wasn’t the first between Writer and Scheunemann. Writer ejected Scheunemann from a quorum court meeting on Nov. 21, 2023, again after Scheunemann spoke during public comments about the maintenance of Spring Valley Road.
“I would like to extend an apology to Eric Scheunemann and the people of Carroll County.”
— Carroll County Judge David Writer
“Forgiveness is essential in any communication. However, we have laws to uphold.”
— Eric Scheunemann