CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The federal jury trial for Levi White, a former Crawford County deputy, has been canceled according to court documents.
White's original trial date was scheduled for May 6, but it was canceled during a pretrial conference on April 16. He now has a plea change hearing set for Friday, April 19. Levi White and Zackary King, both former deputies, are accused of allegedly using excessive force while arresting a man in Mulberry almost two years ago.
The deputies, along with Mulberry Police Officer Thell Riddle, were seen in a video on top of Randal Worcester at a gas station on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022.
In the video posted to social media, the two deputies appeared to be hitting and kicking Worcester while he is on the ground. The FBI and U.S. Marshals arrested White and King on Jan. 24, 2023. The video went viral and was seen by thousands across the nation.
After several investigations, the two deputies were fired from the sheriff's office in October 2022.
According to the FBI, just a few hours before officials claimed White's work iPhone he "performed a factory reset that erased all data."
A federal grand jury indicted White and King, charging them with hitting Worcester "multiple times" while he was lying on the ground and causing him "bodily injury."
The former deputies are officially charged with deprivation of rights under color of law for infringing on Worcester's constitutional right to be "free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer," court documents said. Worcester will have his own trial for the events leading up to his arrest.
King changed his plea to guilty on April 15 and now awaits sentencing. White is expected in court again on April 16 for a plea change hearing.
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