After the two men charged in a White River Detention Center prisoner abuse case were denied an extension of more time before the trial begins, they have now been denied a change of venue from Little Rock to Batesville, where the alleged assaults took place.
Earlier this week, the Arkansas Democrat/Gazette said a Pulaski County judge, Billy Roy Wilson, turned down the request by attorneys for Will Ray and Thomas Farris. Wilson wrote that with less than three weeks before the trial he was unable to find an available courtroom.
Both Ray and Farris have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to assault juveniles at the White River Detention Center in Batesville. They are accused of pepper spraying, choking, shoving, and grabbing the teens when none were posing a threat.
Their trial is set for Dec. 11 in Little Rock.
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