FAST FACTS:
Marco McClendon charged with two felony counts
WMPD: Councilman choked his girlfriend after learning of pregnancy
Fellow council members unsure how conviction would affect council seat
(West Memphis, AR 4/21/10) A popular councilman crowned himself “King,” just before police hauled him off to jail for domestic battery.
Marco McClendon now faces two felony charges, after a fight with his girlfriend Tuesday night. He faced a judge Wednesday, and then he dodged our cameras.
West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert called the councilman a “thug,” a “coward,” and a “pimp.” No doubt there’s bad blood there, but Paudert said these are not trumped up charges.
Police rushed to his house around 9:30 p.m. to find McClendon and his girlfriend sitting in his parked car in the driveway. Police say an argument turned violent after she asked him about his other girlfriends.
“He told him last night that she was pregnant and that was part of what the argument started about,” said Paudert. “Grabs her by the throat with both hands and put both hands around her next and starts chocking her. She thought she was going to pass out, she thought she was going to die.”
The police report says “officers observed marks and redness” on her neck that Paudert says were visible the next day. The police chief says the councilman at first admitted his mistake and begged officers to let him go. Then the report says McClendon declared himself “THE KING OF WEST MEMPHIS” before heading to jail.
“I was mystified, basically in a state of shock,” said fellow council member Lorraine Robinson, who sat by his side in court. “I do believe in his innocence. I’ve known Marco for a long, long time and I don’t know him to be this caliber of person.”
“I don’t like him,” said Paudert, who says, despite years of bad blood, the charges only increased to felonies after police learned the victim is pregnant. He says the charges speak for themselves and are not politically motivated.
“What concerns me is his position of authority in this city,” said Chief Paudert. “What message is he sending to our youth?”
Right after court, McClendon posted a five thousand dollar bond. Robinson says her friend at one point wanted to run for mayor. There’s no telling how these charges will affect his political career.
