City sees 2 slayings in 3 days
By Jeremy Peppas / Staff Writer / jpeppas@nlrtimes.com
Friday, October 3, 2008 11:08 AM CDT
The North Little Rock Police Department’s Investigations Division was busy over the weekend as officers investigated two homicides.
The first was Saturday, when a bleeding man was found on a Main Street sidewalk. He was identified as Anthony Patterson, 50, and taken to Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock, where he died.
Patterson was better known as “Ace” in the Argenta neighborhood, where he roamed as a homeless person.
It appeared that Patterson had been beaten with a baseball bat and kicked. He had multiple blunt-force injuries that appeared to have caused his death, according to the police report.
Officers later arrested Donald Scott Grace, 50, who lives in an apartment at 500 Main St.
That is the address where police found Patterson on the sidewalk.
Grace was charged with first-degree murder and taken to the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility. He is being represented by the James Law Firm.
Grace was originally held with no bond, but Tuesday that was changed to a $25,000 bond, and electronic monitoring was stipulated. Grace also will have to report to a probation officer weekly until Nov. 12, his North Little Rock District Court date.
Wednesday morning, District Court Judge Jim Hamilton signed an order to remove the electronic monitoring. Instead, Grace will be supervised every hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays at his apartment over the law offices of Hardin and Grace.
The defendant is the brother of North Little Rock attorney David Grace, whose partner, Bob Hardin, will supervise Donald Grace on the weekends. Hardin lives in the same building as Donald Grace, who, after hours, will be contacted every hour by telephone until 10 p.m.
Grace was expected to be released from jail Wednesday.
Patterson’s slaying was just the beginning of the detectives’ work.
Monday, a man’s body was found at 911 1/2 W. 22nd St., and detectives responded to process the scene because it appeared suspicious, according to the police report.
An autopsy was conducted, and police said Tuesday that it was a homicide.
The victim’s name was Roland Chamberlain, 72, who died of blunt-force trauma. Police are still investigating.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Police Department at 758-1234.
Patterson’s slaying was the city’s seventh homicide this year, and Chamberlain’s was the eighth.
This time last year, North Little Rock had 10 homicides.
