Prosecutor nominated for US attorney post in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK — A central Arkansas prosecutor has been nominated for a U.S. attorney post in the state.

The White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump has nominated Cody Hiland to serve as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas.

Hiland is currently the prosecuting attorney for the state’s 20th judicial district, which includes Faulkner, Van Buren and Searcy counties. Hiland has formerly worked at the Arkansas Public Service Commission, the Arkansas Transitional Employment Board and is a former legislative liaison and aide for former Gov. Mike Huckabee.

He ran unsuccessfully for the state appeals court last year.

Chris Thyer resigned as U.S. attorney for the district in March at the request of the U.S. attorney general, as is typical of federal prosecutors after a new president takes office.

Arkansas judge suspends city’s top cop over Texas wreck

LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas judge has temporarily removed the police chief in Jacksonville amid questions over whether he’s eligible to serve because of a misdemeanor conviction.

The city hired Geoffrey Herweg in April, after learning he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in Texas after being accused of leaving the scene of an accident. Alderman Tara Smith sought Herweg’s removal and on Thursday Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray ordered him removed pending a trial. He can still work for the city, but not as chief.

KTHV-TV reported that when Herweg was hired, he didn’t want to go down the “negative road” and address his past.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Thursday that, in 2002, Herweg failed to report an accident and filed a false police report, then surrendered his Texas law enforcement credentials.

Police: Truck pulled from Arkansas pond; 2 children dead

PARON — Arkansas police say a 2-year-old girl and a 6-month-old boy have died after being found in a truck in a Saline County pond.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were responding to a call at about

10 p.m. Wednesday in Paron about a missing pickup truck with two children inside. While en route, deputies were told by dispatchers that the truck was in a pond near the address.

Police say the children were located and treated, but they later died. It wasn’t immediately known how the children died. Saline County authorities say a 30-year-old man and a

26-year-old woman have been arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor. An investigation is ongoing.

Paron is about 30 miles

(48 kilometers) west of Little Rock. STATE, PAGE 2A