Elijah Singleton v. State of Arkansas

── Elijah Singleton v. State of Arkansas ── Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas Date: April 09, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. 61 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS No. CR-25-275 Opinion Delivered April 9, 2026 ELIJAH SINGLETON APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE CRITTENDEN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 18CR-22-904] V. HONORABLE RANDY PHILHOURS, JUDGE STATE OF ARKANSAS APPELLEE AFFIRMED. CODY HILAND, Associate Justice Elijah Singleton appeals from his Crittenden County Circuit Court convictions for first-degree murder and employing a firearm in the commission of the offense. On appeal, he argues the circuit court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial and erred in overruling his Batson challenges to the State’s peremptory strikes during jury selection. His arguments are meritless. Therefore, we affirm. I. Factual and Procedural Background Singleton and Ja’Keya Hampton dated for approximately two years until September 2022, when their romantic relationship began to decline. On October 7, the day before Hampton’s murder, the two exchanged several messages on Facebook Messenger. Hampton did not use her cellphone for these communications because Singleton had stolen it from her and refused to return it. During the exchange, Singleton told Hampton he was near her house and would return her phone if she met him. Shortly after midnight on October 8, Hampton agreed to meet Singleton.  Approximately thirty minutes later, an officer with the West Memphis Police Department responded to the scene and found Hampton dead in her car from a gunshot wound to the back of her head not far from her house. Two different home-security cameras captured the shooting. Shortly after 1:05 a.m., Hampton’s vehicle abruptly stopped in the middle of a residential street. A passenger in the front seat then fired three gunshots and fled on foot. On one recording, Hampton can be heard screaming “‘Lijah!” immediately before the first shot was fired. After Hampton’s murder, Singleton contacted several people on Facebook Messenger stating he was hiding in a shed, needed a room at the Budget Inn, needed money for a plane ticket, and needed to destroy evidence. Singleton became the prime suspect. He was arrested later that evening following a multihour standoff with the West Memphis and Crittenden County Special Response Teams at the Budget Inn in West Memphis. Singleton was subsequently charged with capital murder and a firearm enhancement. On the first day of the trial, shortly after the circuit court delivered its opening directives to the jury pool and before jury selection began, prospective juror Louis Ray informed the circuit court, “I’m a lieutenant in the jail, and it’s a conflict of interest.” The circuit court responded in front of the jury pool that Ray’s employment was “not necessarily a conflict of interest,” but called Ray to the bench for further discussion outside the hearing of the jury pool. During the bench conference, Ray explained he personally knows Singleton. When the circuit court asked whether Ray’s knowledge of Singleton would “cloud [his] judgment if [he] were to serve as a juror,” Ray responded he had been “hands 2 on with [Singleton],” so his judgment could be clouded “a lot.” The circuit court immediately excused Ray from service. After jury selection of the first panel concluded, the State exercised peremptory strikes against Jade Jones and Dafney Jones. Following jury selection of the second panel, the State struck Theoplis Macnifcent and Mareus Willis. Singleton then raised a Batson challenge,1 arguing the State had used it