A plea and arraignment this morning in the case of Brandie Gibson, a female escort arrested on drug charges in a Little Rock motel room rented in the name of a Fort Smith judge in December of 2016, resulted in an omnibus hearing date scheduled in July and a jury trial set for September 26.
Brandie Gibson, also known as Brandie Cannon, made a court appearance Monday morning in the Fifth Division Sixth Circuit Court in Pulaski County where she pleaded not guilty to possession of a controlled substance/schedule I/II meth/cocaine that occurred December 2, 2016.
According to the Pulaski County prosecutors office, Gibson was originally scheduled for an April plea and arraignment but that was postponed until today because of delays on testing the substance found in her room at the Extended Stay on Kanis Road.
The room had been rented by James O’Hern, who at the time was the newly elected district court judge for Fort Smith
Gipson, who O’Hern self identified as his “girlfriend” during the investigation, could face as much as six years in prison and a $10,000 fine if found guilty.
Reportedly Gipson and O’Hern are still in a personal relationship and she has told a number of people they are engaged.
O’Hern, who has remained on the bench since the incident occurred, is still under investigation by the Arkansas Judicial Disciplinary and Disability Commission.
He admitted during the initial investigation to having rented the room in his name for Gibson. O’Hern was questioned and released by the Little Rock police in conjunction with Gibson’s arrest.
Dennis W. McCaslin
Dennis McCaslin has been a longtime news and sports reporter for several media outlets in the Fort Smith area. He has also been a well known radio personality and play-by-play announcer for several years prior to joining InsideFortSmith.Com. He is the voice of the ArklahomaSports High School Game of the Week. E-mail: dennis@greatplainsdigital.com
