Thomas indicted on murder charges

Published 8:34 pm Friday, February 3, 2012

James Arthur Thomas has been indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury on murder charges.

District Attorney Michael Jackson said his bond has been set for $2 million, and he will be arraigned in Circuit Court in a few months.

Thomas is being held on charges of the Christmas Eve 2010 murder of Reuben Stitten.

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Thomas was already in the Dallas County Jail when the murder charges were added.

At the time, he was already being held on charges of firing into an occupied vehicle.

The murder, Selma Police Department Sgt. Tori Neeley said, occurred at 12:45 a.m. on Christmas Eve morning near Craig Field in the 100 block of Hope Street.

Stitten died of a gunshot wound to the torso.

Thomas, 19, lived on an adjacent street in the same subdivision on the 200 block of Unity Lane.

According to witnesses, the shooting stemmed from an altercation earlier in the night, Neely said.

Witnesses said Stitten had actually stepped in to stop the earlier altercation and was not the primary person in the argument.

Witnesses said Stitten and his friend left the area. Later that night, Stitten and Thomas exchanged words and the fatal shots were fired.

The same witnesses to the night’s events played a key role in connecting James to the shooting, Neely said.


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