Ryan James Lindsey of Norfork, who is facing the death penalty for the murder of then 35-year-old Cody Stradford in December 2020, has picked up new charges for throwing a rage-fueled-tantrum in the Baxter County Detention Center.
He appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday by electronic hookup from the jail. Lindsey made a start at explaining his side of the story but was stopped by lawyers who reminded him that anything he said could be used against him.
The lawyers said they would meet with him to discuss the charges. Lindsey is set to reappear June 24. He also has a number of active criminal cases other than the one containing the charges stemming from the murder.
LATEST CASE
On April 26, the 31-year-old Lindsey was reported to have been in the multiple-purpose room of the jail conducting an online meeting with one of his attorneys when he blew his top, overturning the table where he was sitting, scattering papers and sending a laptop computer crashing to the floor.
Lindsey is alleged to have started yelling and pacing. He stopped at one point to throw a folding metal chair at a window causing the security glass to crack.
At the time, Lindsey was shackled and wearing hand restraints because he is considered a security threat to jail staff.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Lindsey is double jointed which means he can “dislocate” his thumb and move it into a position that allows him to slip his hand through the restraints. He is reported to have removed the cuff from his left hand, took the free cuff and placed it over his right hand turning it into a “brass knuckle type weapon.”
Lindsey was reported to have continued to pace and yell until a team came into the room and brought him under control. He was returned to his cell.
The new charges include criminal mischief, possession or use of weapons by an incarcerated person and impairing the operations if a vital public facility.
THE MURDER CASE
Lindsey is in jail awaiting his murder trial. He is one of four people charged in Stradford’s death. The trial is set for October.
Stradford was allegedly lured to a house along Cresswell Drive in Mountain Home. According to the probable cause affidavit, shortly after Stradford entered what was described as a walk-out basement, Lindsey and 40-year-old Skylar Brazil began beating him.
His body was found in a burned-out vehicle several days after the violent and ultimately deadly encounter at the Cresswell Drive residence.
In addition to Lindsey and Brazil, two females, 44-year-old Allison Cunningham and 27-year-old Allison Hendricks were alleged to have been involved in the murder. It is reported they stood by and watched as Stradford was beaten by the two males.
Cunningham is alleged to have accompanied Lindsey to Texas where they were arrested and returned to Mountain Home.
The state is seeking the death penalty for Lindsey and Allison.
At one point, Lindsey had six criminal cases open in addition to the one where he is charged with capitol murder.
Of the four people accused of being involved in the Stradford killing, Lindsey is the most familiar to local law enforcement. His criminal record goes back to 2010 when he was a teenager.
After serving his time on charges in an earlier criminal case, Lindsey was returned to the Baxter County Detention Center.
The two females charged in the murder are being kept in county jails. Brazil is an inmate in the Varner Unit of the state Prison system.
Lindsey’s bond is set at $1 million.
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