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A Marion County circuit judge has denied the state’s request to try Steven M. Manson Jr.’s rape and kidnapping cases together, ruling May 6 that the offenses are not part of a single scheme or plan.
The same week, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Russo filed a motion in the cases against Manson’s father, Steven L. Manson, asking the court to order a mental health evaluation that includes testing for dementia.
Circuit Judge Andrew S. Bailey signed the order denying joinder at 3:41 p.m. May 6 in cases 45CR-25-117 and 45CR-25-118. Manson Jr. was booked into the Carroll County jail at 5:55 p.m. the same day on a hold for another agency, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office booking record.
In 45CR-25-117, Manson Jr. is charged with rape and sexual assault in the second degree. In 45CR-25-118, he faces charges of kidnapping, possession of firearms by certain persons, and terroristic threatening. The state alleges Manson Jr. threatened to kill household members if they tried to leave the house or report the conduct alleged in the rape case.
The state moved to consolidate the cases for a single trial. Defense counsel objected.
Bailey wrote that joinder over a defendant’s objection requires a finding that the offenses are part of a single scheme or plan under Rule 22.2 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. He acknowledged the cases are connected.
“The allegations in the State’s criminal information in 45CR-25-117 gave rise to Defendant’s alleged conduct in 45CR-25-118,” Bailey wrote. “The charged offenses are violent in nature and allegedly occurred close in time. At least two of the complaining parties are the same in both cases.”
Bailey ruled the connection was not enough. He cited the Arkansas Supreme Court’s 1994 decision in Clay v. State, which held that “same conduct” under the joinder rule refers to contemporaneous events, such as a defendant robbing three people at once.
“The allegations are not part of an ongoing criminal episode and cannot be considered ‘contemporaneous events,’ or, for that matter, offenses of similar character,” Bailey wrote.
The ruling means the state must try the two cases separately.
In the separate motion filed May 1 in cases 45CR-25-82 and 45CR-26-14, Russo asked the court to order a mental health evaluation of Steven L. Manson under A.C.A. §5-2-304(c). The motion seeks testing for both fitness to proceed and criminal responsibility, and specifically requests dementia testing.
Manson Sr. is charged with disorderly conduct, conspiracy to commit rape, terroristic threatening and coercion, with a habitual offender enhancement based on four or more prior felonies.
Russo wrote that the state “has reason to believe that due to mental disease or defect, Steven L. Manson may not fully understand the proceedings against him, and may not have been able to fully appreciate the criminality of the conduct with which he is accused.”
The motion is unusual in that the prosecuting attorney’s office, rather than defense counsel, is asking for the evaluation. Defense attorney Eugene Clifford has not filed a competency challenge.
Attached to the motion as an exhibit is an Arkansas Department of Human Services letter dated Aug. 10, 2025, notifying Manson Sr. that an independent assessment conducted Aug. 6, 2025, placed him at ARChoices Tier Two. The letter states a Tier Two finding can result from high scoring on activities of daily living, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or related dementia requiring substantial supervision, or a medical condition requiring daily monitoring by a licensed professional. The letter does not specify which criterion applied to Manson Sr.
The letter is signed by Jay Hill, director of the DHS Division for Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services.
Manson Sr., Manson Jr. and co-defendant Dezarae Manson entered not-guilty pleas at a March 31 arraignment. The next hearing in the consolidated co-defendant matters is set for June 23.
