FORT SMITH -- A bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of a woman charged with permitting abuse of her 18-month-old daughter who police say died at the hands of her live-in boyfriend.
The warrant was issued by Sebastian County Circuit Judge Michael Fitzhugh after Prosecutor Daniel Shue filed a petition to revoke the bond Wednesday of 20-year-old Sierra Ann Johnson of Fort Smith.
"Investigators with the Fort Smith Police Department have attempted to locate Ms. Johnson and have been unsuccessful," police Cpl. Anthony Rice wrote in a news release Thursday morning.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Rice said, Johnson hadn't been found.
Johnson was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging her with permitting abuse of a minor, a felony. Sebastian County jail records show she posted a $7,500 bond Tuesday to get out of jail.
But the bond Shue wanted to revoke, according to the petition, was a $7,000 bond Johnson posted Jan. 1 after she was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, a felony, and possession of less then 4 ounces of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
The petition said permitting abuse of a minor violated the conditions of the bond for the drug charges, which prompted Shue to seek its revocation.
Johnson is scheduled to be arraigned in circuit court Wednesday on the charge of permitting abuse of a minor. If convicted, she could be sentenced to five to 20 years in prison and fined up to $15,000 or both.
Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the drug charges and is scheduled to go on trial the week of June 11, according to court records.
Johnson's boyfriend, Tyree La'Mont Williams, 25, was charged last week with first-degree murder in the Jan. 30 death of Johnson's daughter, Kylah Woodard.
Court and police records showed Williams and Johnson took the unconscious Kylah to the Sparks Regional Medical Center emergency room Jan. 30. Doctors were unable to revive her.
A medical examiner determined Kylah died from injuries to her abdomen and noted she showed bruising from previous abuse. Under questioning by police, Williams admitted punching Kylah in the stomach "a couple of times," according to reports.
A probable cause affidavit Shue released Tuesday said Johnson admitted she left her daughter in Williams' care "while knowing he was a marijuana dealer, knowing he had abused her (the defendant) in the past."
Johnson said in the affidavit Williams once yanked violently on Kylah's arm in public and several times she saw him take Kylah into a room and spank her. She said she could hear the blows of Williams' spanking and Kylah crying.
She also said she saw bruises on Kylah's body, according to the affidavit.
"The defendant continued to leave her 18-month-old child with Tyree Williams (while she worked as a prostitute) although she knew all these things about Williams' character," the affidavit said.
NW News on 02/16/2018