A plea bargain has been reached in the trial of Heather Ellis.
In a deal reached late Friday, prosecutors agreed to drop two felony counts of assault on a law officer, while Ellis agreed to plead guilty to disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.
Under the deal, Ellis must also serve one year of unsupervised probation, attend at least two hours of anger management classes and serve four days in the Dunklin County Jail.
Further details, such as when Ellis will begin her probation and when she’ll go to jail, should be decided soon.
A jury of 10 white women, one black woman and one black man began deliberating the Ellis’s case late Friday. The 24-year-old school teacher from Louisiana is accused of cutting in line at the Kennett Wal-Mart in January 2007, then becoming belligerent and refusing to leave after store managers asked her to go.
Ellis is black and arresting officers are white. The racial overtones of the case have drawn national attention.
Prosecutors tried to show that Ellis became belligerent when another customer confronted her for cutting in line at the cashier.
Police have said Ellis used obscene language and kicked and bit officers as they led her out of the store.
But in testimony Friday, Ellis said she didn’t curse or attack anyone.
She said it was police who attacked her in the parking lot. Her 15-year-old cousin who was with her at the store and the boy’s mother who arrived in the parking lot collaborated Ellis’ story.
During the closing arguments, Prosecutor Morley Swingle said, “You can fight the charges in court, not out on the street.”
Swingle also said the defense’s witnesses were trying to make Kennett look like “a racist Cooterville.”
The defense said the whole trial is just one big overreaction and that everyone jumped to conclusion. The defense also said the people at Wal-Mart “blew it.”
Ellis arrived at the courthouse at 9 a.m. and immediately took the stand Friday. She was on the stand for two hours.
While on the stand, Ellis said a police officer started yelling at her after she went through the check out line telling her to “go back to the ghetto.”
She says she asked the officers why they weren’t harassing “crackheads”. She claims the officer said he would rather harass her.
Ellis claimed the officer grabbed her left arm and ripped her leather jacket. She also says her hair extensions came out, her hat was knocked off, and her shoes were knocked off.
Ellis was booked at the county jail. She say she requested medical attention and went to Pemiscot Memorial Hospital.
The defense presented an arrest report and emergency room bill with spots on it claiming it was her blood. Ellis says she had injuries to her wrists and fingers because her handcuffs her put on too tight.
Prosecutor Morley Swingle then called a rebuttal witness, Dr. Benjamin Mozie. Dr. Mozie testified that when Ellis was brought to Pemiscot Memorial Hospital after the altercation he did not find any blood on Ellis.
On Thursday, the jury heard testimony from Wal-Mart employees and Kennett police officers. The defense worked to show they weren’t credible witnesses.
Duration : 0:2:25
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