FORT SMITH -- The former sheriff of Franklin County is set to remain in federal prison for physically abusing jail detainees after an unsuccessful attempt to appeal his conviction and sentence.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Friday upheld the conviction and sentencing of Anthony Boen, 52, according to court records. Judges Raymond Gruender, Duane Benton and Bobby Shepherd heard arguments in the case Jan. 11.
Boen had requested the appeals court either reverse the district court's decision and dismiss all the charges against him, or reverse and send his case back for a new trial. Barring these, Boen asked the appeals court to reverse and send his case back for resentencing.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks sentenced Boen on March 10 to four years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Brooks said Boen would receive credit for time he spent in jail after his jury trial. The judge imposed a $4,800 fine and a $200 special assessment as well.
A jury convicted Boen of two federal counts of deprivation of rights Aug. 9, 2021. These stemmed from two use-of-force incidents against detainees in 2018 that resulted in bodily injury.
One incident involved Boen ordering detainee Brandon English of Ozark to the detectives' office, where he pushed English to the floor and grabbed his hair or beard, according to Boen's indictment. The other involved Boen hitting detainee Zachery Greene of Ozark "multiple times in the head" while Greene was shackled to a bench in the county jail and not resisting.
Boen filed a notice of appeal in the federal district court March 31 , according to court records.
His legal team argued the district court erred when it refused to allow Boen to introduce evidence providing context as to why Greene was shackled to a bench in the county jail. Their brief attributes this situation to a lack of suitable space at the "decrepit" facility -- something beyond Boen's control -- and argues the court's refusal to allow Boen to present this context allowed the federal government to create bias in the jury against Boen.
The district court made another error when it allowed the government to introduce Franklin's County's "use of force" policy for uncertified detention officers, as well as an "inmate rights" form posted at the jail as evidence, according to Boen's brief. It claimed these documents were irrelevant to any issue at Boen's trial and invited risk of confusion in the jury.
Other accusations in Boen's brief are the district court was wrong to apply an "obstruction of justice enhancement" to Boen's conviction concerning Greene during sentencing based on evidence presented during the jury trial, and there was insufficient evidence Boen caused either Greene or English to sustain any "bodily injury" under federal law. It states Boen's four-year prison sentence is "substantively unreasonable."
Boen is being held at a low-security federal institution in Bastrop, Texas, according to an inmate roster on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. He's currently scheduled for release Nov. 24, 2024.
A New Sheriff
Franklin County residents elected Johnny Crocker as their sheriff for a four-year term beginning Jan. 1 during the Republican primary election May 24 . Crocker beat Grant Nicely and Kevin Hutchison for the position. No Democratic candidates filed to run.
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State website