When the Law Is Not Applied Equally: Questions Raised by the Prosecution of El Dorado's Former Mayor

When the Law Is Not Applied Equally: Questions Raised by the Prosecution of El Dorado's Former Mayor

by Rena Borden

Smith-Creer was elected mayor in November 2018, defeating incumbent Bill Luther by a narrow margin of 50.38% to 48.58%. She made history as the first female and first African-American mayor of El Dorado, a milestone celebrated by local and state leaders. Her four-year term concluded on December 31, 2022, when she handed over the mayoral reins to Paul Choate.

A former mayor, the first person of color and the first woman to serve as mayor of El Dorado, was prosecuted while others who played central roles were not. That difference alone raises serious questions about selective enforcement and how the law is applied in practice.

https://arkansasag.gov/news-release/former-el-dorado-mayor-arrested-on-theft-charge/

Former Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer was arrested and charged with felony theft. The charge was based on her decision to move funds from a nonprofit organization that was not in compliance into another nonprofit that was in compliance and served a similar mission.

To understand why that decision was made, the events leading up to it matter.

In October 2022, I began trying to help raise a reward for a missing young woman in El Dorado, Arkansas. Ieshia Jackson disappeared on October 31, 2020. Her case remains unsolved.

I was directed to contact Captain Scott Harwell, who served as the liaison between El Dorado Crime Stoppers and the El Dorado Police Department. Captain Harwell instructed me to draft a donation solicitation letter to help raise funds for the reward. Those letters were mailed on October 28, 2022.

In November 2022, Captain Harwell told me the letters had already brought in funding. He said he gave the checks to the Crime Stoppers treasurer, Alexis Alexander. I  later had someone reach out to Ms. Alexander and she told them that one check, for around one hundred dollars, had been received for Ieshia Jackson. 

I then asked for basic organizational and financial documents. These were not unusual requests. I wanted to explain to potential donors how their money would be used and to understand the policies governing the organization.

Ms. Alexander told me she had no documentation. There were no policy or procedure manuals. She referred me back to Captain Harwell.

On January 16, 2023, I followed up with Captain Harwell. He initially stated that he did not track financial data, that he had no decision making authority, and that all decisions were made by the Crime Stoppers board.

Within hours, his explanation changed.

He then stated that Crime Stoppers typically averaged three to five thousand dollars per year in donations, that no fundraisers or donations occurred during the pandemic, that he and Alexis Alexander approved the three thousand dollar reward for Ieshia Jackson, and that Crime Stoppers had received approximately twenty seven thousand dollars in donations.

At the same time, the Crime Stoppers account reportedly held only a little over three thousand dollars when Ieshia's reward was approved.

Because no one could provide bylaws or a policy manual, and because the treasurer described herself as self appointed, I began researching nonprofit requirements on my own.

What I found raised additional concerns.

Both Captain Harwell and Ms. Alexander stated that the organization only had enough money to cover Ieshia's reward. Yet rewards were advertised throughout the pandemic. Public records showed rewards being offered at times when the account was said to hold only three thousand dollars.

I located a Crime Stoppers policy manual online and requested bylaws from the IRS. I also noted that Mayor Paul Choate, who had campaigned on strengthening Crime Stoppers, had not addressed ongoing questions about unsolved crimes.

My review suggested the organization was not operating in line with basic nonprofit governance standards. There was no functioning board. The treasurer position was self appointed. In practice, the organization appeared to be operated by two people.

In a written communication to me, Captain Harwell stated that he and Alexis Alexander were the only individuals operating the program at that time.

When I raised concerns and asked for clarification, I was met with resistance and silence. I was not trying to dismantle the organization. I was trying to avoid becoming complicit in practices that did not appear compliant or transparent.

After receiving no response internally, and hearing that Captain Harwell had suddenly retired in the spring of 2023, I filed a complaint with the Arkansas Attorney General's Office. I was later advised that there was nothing their office could do regarding the matter.

With no resolution, I contacted the media. A reporter with 7 On Your Side out of Little Rock traveled to El Dorado to interview individuals connected to the organization.

Within weeks of the reporter's interview with the treasurer, Ms. Alexander unexpectedly died from complications related to surgery.

The reporter later told me she had received only a handwritten ledger of the financial records. Ms. Alexander had indicated she would send additional documentation by email. That documentation was never provided. The story did not move forward.

After that, one volunteer sought help elsewhere and contacted the Union County Sheriff. The county relied on Crime Stoppers for investigations and case resolutions.

The sheriff attempted to gather basic information about the organization's finances and governance. He contacted Mayor Paul Choate and Police Chief Kenny Hickman to ask about the account balance and authorized signers. According to the sheriff, neither provided that information.

What the sheriff did learn was that Veronica Smith-Creer was listed on the account. He relayed that information to me.

I contacted Veronica to let her know. She was shocked. She said she had never been notified of any concerns and questioned why no one had contacted her earlier if issues existed. She said she would reach out to the sheriff directly to understand what was happening.

El Dorado is a small town. Alexis Alexander and Veronica Smith-Creer were friends, or at least Veronica believed they were. For years, Alexis Alexander and Captain Harwell operated the organization without a functioning board, and no one with authority intervened.

In October 2023, Veronica contacted the last known board members, whose service dated back to 2014 or 2015, to explain the situation. Because the bank required two authorized signatures and no functioning board existed, she was advised that the funds could be withdrawn and converted into a cashier's check.

She followed that advice. She provided documentation, including photographs of the cashier's check, to the former board members.

 

In February, Veronica identified a nonprofit with a similar mission that was in good standing with the Arkansas Secretary of State. She notified the former board members that the funds would be transferred.

Most responded positively.

One did not.

Stacy Scroggins, an accountant, raised objections nearly four months after the email was sent. He had served as the accountant for El Dorado Crime Stoppers, served as the accountant for the City of El Dorado, and donated to Crime Stoppers in 2022 while it was not in compliance and had no active board.

 

On October 1, 2024, Veronica Smith-Creer was arrested, fingerprinted, and booked. Her mugshot was taken that day.

I was in disbelief. I could not bring myself to look at it.

I was the volunteer who had raised the alarm. I felt responsible. I felt I had failed not only Veronica, but the victims who could not speak for themselves and the families who held onto hope because of publicly advertised rewards.

I did not see Veronica as a criminal. I saw her as someone who acted when others with authority did not.

In July 2025, I was subpoenaed.

The same month, I saw a Facebook post stating that the nonprofit to which Veronica had transferred the funds was returning the money to El Dorado Crime Stoppers and its "whole new board." Because the criminal case had not concluded, I did not ask questions at that time.

In September 2025, Veronica entered a plea to a lesser charge. Her reasons for doing so are her own and were explained publicly by her.

Once the case concluded, I began asking questions.

I learned that Police Chief Kenny Hickman, who retired in October 2025, had contacted Karen Hicks and Tyler Turner and asked them to form a board. Ms. Hicks stated that a prosecutor from the Attorney General's Office requested the funds be moved back.

When I asked who selected the board members and why, no clear answer was given. Requests for the full list of board members were denied.

As of today, El Dorado Crime Stoppers remains not in good standing with the Arkansas Secretary of State. I also learned that someone associated with the organization contacted the Secretary of State on the same day I verified noncompliance, resulting in its status being changed from statutorily dissolved to not current.

 

December 10, 2025: 

 

Families of victims were not contacted or informed about the status of rewards tied to their loved ones' cases, despite repeated claims that solving crime was the organization's priority.

https://opinions.arcourts.gov/ark/cr/en/1868/1/document.d

None of this happened in isolation.

Crimes involving minority victims are less likely to be solved. Media attention and institutional urgency are not evenly distributed. In rural Southern communities, criminal narratives about minorities are often accepted without scrutiny.

Few people question a headline that reads, "Former Mayor Arrested for Theft." Fewer still pause when the photograph shows a Black woman.

What happened to Veronica Smith-Creer occurred in full view of people who understood how local government works and recognized when procedures were ignored. Many raised concerns privately. When it mattered most, silence prevailed.

Selective enforcement does not require widespread corruption. It only requires enough people with authority to look away.

And the question we should all be asking is not whether we would recognize injustice, but whether we would have the courage to say something when it does.

The author retains contemporaneous emails, records, recordings, and public filings supporting the factual statements in this account.

Ieshia Jackson remains missing. To date, the public has not been provided a clear timeline, what she was wearing, where she was last seen, or a sustained call to action. The Crime Stoppers number previously associated with her case is disconnected.

If you have information about Ieshia Jackson's disappearance, please contact El Dorado Police Chief Ricky Roberts at 870-864-4200.