Trial date set for Sunman man accused of rape

Wanda English Burnett
Editor

A not guilty plea has been entered for Stanley Short, 41 of Sunman, who was charged with a series of felony counts after fleeing from law enforcement.

An initial hearing was held last week in Ripley County Circuit Court for Short where he was advised of the formal charges of Rape, Criminal Deviate Conduct, Criminal Confinement, Battery and Domestic Battery.

A $15,050 cash bond was set and jury trial dates given for November 14, 15, and 16, 2011. He will have a pre-trial hearing on September 26. According to Ripley County Jail officials, Short was still incarcerated as of June 15. John Kellerman II has been appointed counsel for Short.

According to Ripley Publishing Co. files, a warrant was issued for Short’s arrest a short time after his estranged wife told police she had been held against her will and raped by him.

According to information in the Probable Cause Affidavit, Short is accused of hitting the victim in the head with a hammer, tying her to the bed and raping her.

The victim was finally able to get free from Short after she persuaded him to let her get money to pay the electric bill before it was shut off. She told police they went to the bank where she made a withdrawal at the drive-thru. Then they went to the Dollar Store, where she still didn’t think she could make a clean get-away. She said she was looking for a chance to run.

The couple continued with the victim driving. She finally saw her chance to get away as a group of men were standing in front of the Sunman Auction House. She told police she suddenly turned the wheel of the car pulling up to the area where the men were. She jumped out of the vehicle screaming and yelling that she had been raped and hit in the head with a hammer by Short. He then bolted from the area.

Police asked the public for help in finding Short. In the early morning hours of June 1, Short was taken into custody thanks to a tip concerning his whereabouts.

The alleged crimes took place on May 25. Ripley County dispatch received a call asking for help in Sunman a little before noon that day. The victim told police the ordeal began about 7:20 a.m. that morning after she took the kids to school and came back to her home. She said Short came up behind her in the living room holding a hammer. She told police she had been raped, hit, and threatened for almost four hours that day.