Devon Holder
Re-Elect Prosecuting Attorney
DEVON HOLDER
Devon Holder took office as the Prosecuting Attorney for the Third Judicial District on January 1, 2023. He hired eight deputy prosecutors, six administrative assistants, four victim advocates and a handful of Drug Task Force Agents and got to work.
Since then, Mr. Holder and his team have successfully prosecuted thousands of felony cases and thousands more misdemeanor cases, including a backlog of cases that were left over from the previous years.
PROSECUTION OF CRIMES
AGAINST CHILDREN
Mr. Holder and his team take crimes against children very seriously. Since taking office, Mr. Holder and his team have punished those who have harmed children with a combined more than 1,000 years of prison time. Some notable cases include:
68CR2023-108 - State v. T.L. - 560 years ADC (jury trial)
38CR2023-110 - State v. M.W. - 40 years ADC
34CR2023-8 - State v. J.A. - 30 years ADC
61CR2023-163 - State v. R.H. - 10 years ADC
38CR2023-138 - State v. J.W. - Life + 149 years ADC (jury trial)
34CR2024-33 - State v. P.L. - 30 years ADC
34CR2024-164 - State v. C.M. - 20 years ADC
38CR2021-6 - State v. J.H. - 25 years ADC (jury trial)
68CR2022-65 - State v. C.S. - 35 years ADC (jury trial)
61CR2023-177 - State v. A.A. - Life ADC (sentencing trial)
38CR2024-108 - State v. D.G. - 25 years ADC
38CR2024-166 - State v. C.W. - 25 years ADC
38CR2025-29 - State v. B.L. - 35 years ADC
61CR2022-148 - State v. T.H. - 20 years ADC
68CR2023-66 - State v. T.J. - 25 years ADC
More than $12,000,000.00 in illegal drugs off the streets
Mr. Holder started a Drug Task Force that has taken more than $12,000,000.00 in illegal drugs off the streets. Before taking office, Mr. Holder met with the Sheriff of each county in the district: Shane Russell (Sharp County), Kevin Bell (Randolph County), Russell Brinsfield (Jackson County), and Tony Waldrupe (Lawrence County). Together, they agreed to begin sharing resources and information through a Drug Task Force. They met again in March of 2023 and hired a Drug Task Force Commander. The Third Judicial District Drug Task Force officially began on July 1, 2023, with Mr. Holder serving as the Project Director.
The Drug Task Force now consists of three full time officers, and most law enforcement agencies in the District have agreed to assign an experienced investigator to the team. The DTF has taken pressure off of many departments, allowing them to spend more of their time working theft and violent crime cases. Information sharing and cooperation across jurisdictional boundaries has led to the arrest of many high-level drug traffickers, greatly improving community safety in our district.
Consistent Jury Trial Success
From January 2019 to December 2022, prior to Mr. Holder taking office, there were only 3 jury trials, and the prosecution went 2-1 in those trials. Less than 40 years of prison time were given to offenders.
From January 2023 to July 10 of 2025, Mr. Holder and his staff took fifteen cases to a jury trial. Mr. Holder and current staff of deputy prosecutors tried twelve of those cases and only lost one of them. A life sentence and more than 1,000 years of prison time were given to the offenders.
Mr. Holder's success in jury trials allowed his staff to get better plea deals across the board, improving community safety.
Bryan Rogers was given 264 years of prison time in one case. Devon Holder served as lead counsel in the trial.
About Mr. Holder
Mr. Holder graduated from Hendrix College in 2008 and from the William H. Bowen School of Law with Honors in 2010. In late 2011, he moved to Pocahontas and served as the Randolph County Public Defender for three years before moving on to work as a full-time private practice attorney.
Mr. Holder lives with his wife, Amy, and his two children, Zoey and Amelia, in Randolph County. He serves on the Board of Directors for CASA, and is a member of the Pocahontas Rotary Club and VFW Auxiliary Post 4556. He teaches a Sunday School Class at his church and enjoys hunting, fishing and playing chess.
Reduced Crime
Crime has gone down since Mr. Holder took office. Data from the Arkansas Crime Information Center shows that crime has trended down overall and in most of the Third Judicial District. In 2024, Cherokee Village made the Top Ten Safest Cities in Arkansas, and Newport's crime rate was dramatically reduced. Every Sheriff's Department that recorded data in 2022 and 2023 showed an overall reduction in 2023 and 2024. Add up all the crime in 2022, 2023 and 2024 from each agency across the district, and you'll see a clear trend that crime is down.
Mr. Holder believes that the decrease is due in part to the high number of successful jury trials, the Drug Task Force, and improved rehabilitation efforts. Credit also goes to the hard working sheriffs and police chiefs in the district. It is Mr. Holder's goal to give the people of the Third Judicial District Safer Communities.
Improved Rehabilitation
Efforts
Mr. Holder believes that rehabilitation is key to safer communities in the district, as the majority of crime in the district is drug related. Under his direction, rehabilitation efforts have improved. Non-violent low-level drug offenders are being given more chances in Drug Court and long-term rehabilitation facilities. For the first time ever, low level offenders in Sharp County are going to Drug Court. In Jackson County, unlike before, scores of non-violent, low-level offenders are going to long-term rehabilitation centers and getting treatment.
When offenders are given treatment at these places, they are not being given a pass; if they re-offend during treatment or when released, prosecutors can easily still send them to prison for violating the terms of their probation. Giving them another shot not only reduces the chances they'll reoffend, it keeps them out of the community longer.
Contact me:
PO Box 698, Pocahontas, AR 72455
Facebook Messenger: Devon Holder
Email: Holder4pa@gmail.com
Paid for by the Campaign to Re-Elect Prosecuting Attorney Devon Holder