By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville man who was charged in March 2012 with the first-degree murder of Fire Capt. Donald “Donnie” Jones will be tried on Jan. 28 after a judge confirmed on Monday that he is mentally competent.
Bryce Allen Jr., 47, allegedly drove around emergency vehicles at 8411 S. Hwy. 161 and struck Jones, firefighter Jason Bowmaster and police officer Daniel DiMatteo with his van. The three men were responding to the scene of a single-vehicle accident involving Allen’s mother, Thelma. She struck a gas main and was not hurt.
Jones, a 31-year-veteran of the department, was the first Jacksonville firefighter to be killed in the line of duty.
Allen will appear in court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 19 at the Pulaski County Circuit Court in Little Rock.
Circuit Court Judge Barry Sims, who ruled that Allen is mentally fit to stand trial, will preside over the hearing and the trial.
Bowmaster has not returned to duty.
Capt. Kenny Boyd of the Jacksonville Police Department said, “The department was glad to hear that progress has been made to hopefully reach a conclusion to this event on behalf of the Jacksonville Fire Department, Jacksonville Police Department and the families of the brave men that were affected by this tragedy.”
He said DiMatteo is back on patrol working the night shift and “the healing continues.”
The officer will probably receive a subpoena to the trial and testify, Boyd said.
Allen has a history of mental illness. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, hallucinations and delusions that included paranoia involving the Ku Klux Klan.
According to the police report, Allen made no attempt to brake and even accelerated before hitting the three first responders. He also appeared to be aiming toward them, the report states.
Allen was arrested in 2009 for the second-degree battery of a police officer and terroristic threatening. According to court records, he was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect.
Allen, who was an Army corporal from 1983-1986, told the psychologist who examined him in 2010 that he had been hospitalized eight times, mostly at Fort Roots Veterans Hospital in North Little Rock.
He has also been accused of hitting an Ohio police officer with his car in 2011.
The guard, who sustained a minor injury, was an off-duty policeman.
In March, Fire Station Four on Hwy. 161 was dedicated to Jones’ memory.
Construction of a Fallen Heroes Memorial Garden at the new public safety building on Marshall Road is under way.
The building contains the police department in addition to training classrooms and a couple offices for the fire department.
The garden, waterfall and monument will honor the city’s first responders who have died in the line of duty.
Jones’ is the only name on the planned monolithic monument. His uniform is also displayed in a glass case on the fire department’s side of the building. It is in front of the tornado shelter that doubles as an auditorium and training area.