The Washington County criminal justice system is in the national spotlight now that there has been an arrest in the Devil's Den Double murder case.
In a shocking incident that made national news, 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink of Prairie Grove were fatally attacked on Saturday, July 26, while hiking with their two daughters in Devil's Den State Park. The girls were unharmed and are now safe with family. The family had just moved to Washington County from out of state.
Here's some background about how our local justice system has been involved in the case, how it works, and some of the major factors affecting it.
Washington County Detention Center
Suspect Andrew McGann, a school teacher, is currently being held in the Washington County Detention Center in south Fayetteville. He was booked on Wednesday, July 30, at 7:08 pm, after being arrested at a local Springdale hair salon while in the middle of a haircut. The Washington County Sheriff's Department released McGann's intake booking video to the media. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette posted it on YouTube:
The Washington County Sheriff's Department has a website where you can view details on everyone booked into the county jail, including charges and bonds. The link is here. It also connects to a service called Vine, where you can sign up to be notified of any changes to a detainee's custody status.
McGann is listed in the jail roster as being 28 years old, a white male with blue eyes and blonde hair, 6 feet tall, and 180 pounds. The arresting agency is listed as the Arkansas State Police.
While this case is unusual and not typical of the charges most people in our jail face, it is an opportunity to look more closely at the broader state of our local justice system. Our county jail has been overcrowded for many years, with many people sleeping on the floor. Many detainees are awaiting trial on lower‑level charges, including failure to appear in court.
The jail has a design capacity of 710, but due to various populations that need to be separated, the operational capacity is lower than that. As of mid‑June, there was a daily average high count of 736 people in the jail, with 66 people sleeping on the floor.
The overcrowded jail has been the source of many local political battles. In 2019, the county commissioned a study to decide what to do about it. Some of the recommendations, like Mental Health Court, have been launched, as well as more support for the existing Drug Court. Other major recommendations, like a Pretrial Services program, have never been launched. Still others, like the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee and the Crisis Stabilization Unit, were up and running for a while until the County Judge later suspended them. In 2022, 59% of voters rejected a sales tax hike to expand the jail by 232 beds. In 2024, the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition sued over a plan to use American Rescue Plan COVID relief money to expand the jail, although the suit was dismissed earlier this year on a technicality. In May, the county opened the Community Rebuilding Initiative in a separate low-security facility (the old Crisis Stabilization Unit), and offers up to 30 non‑violent male detainees mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and life‑skills classes to help them turn their lives around and avoid returning to jail. There are plans to expand the same program to women.
Washington County Prosecutor
Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter gave details of the investigation at a Thursday morning news conference in Little Rock. Carter said the state would give a jury the option to sentence McGann to the death penalty. He told 5News that because of that, he expects it to be a lengthy case. Here's the video of Thursday's news conference, along with the head of Arkansas State Police:
Carter took over as the lead prosecutor for Washington and Madison counties (the 4th Judicial District) on January 1, 2025. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed him to finish the last two years of former Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett’s term, after Durrett was elected to be a Circuit Judge. In Arkansas, judges and prosecuting attorneys are elected.
Carter says he has made it his goal by early next year to clear the backlog of local cases that built up during the pandemic, so that there is a "1-to-1" rate of justice - in other words, for every new case opened, a case is resolved. This may also help somewhat with jail overcrowding.
In June, Carter announced that he is running for the Arkansas Court of Appeals. In July, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Dean announced he is running to replace Carter in the top prosecutor role. [August 7 Update: Lisa Parks has also announced she is running to replace Carter as Prosecuting Attorney.] Both elections are in March 2026.
Washington County Court
McGann made his first court appearance Friday morning, August 1. It was what's known as a "Rule 8.1 Hearing". Under Arkansas law, the Rules of Criminal Procedure state, "An arrested person who is not released by citation or by other lawful manner shall be taken before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay."
The brief hearing was held in the small courtroom inside the Washington County jail. McGann appeared in front of District Judge Terra Stephenson. He was ordered held without bond. The Arkansas Public Defender’s Commission was appointed to represent him. The commission's Executive Director, Greg Parrish, was at the hearing.
Arkansas’ public defenders have been struggling to keep up with heavy caseloads and too little funding. Last year, Parrish secured $1.25 million in emergency aid to prevent layoffs and tackle a backlog of thousands of pandemic‑era cases. This year, lawmakers passed Act 1016, providing nearly $4 million to staff 22 full‑time positions. Advocates say it’s progress, but still not enough to guarantee everyone gets the legal defense the Constitution promises.
Prosecutors filed formal charges against McGann on Friday afternoon. He faces two counts of Capital Murder. The penalty range for each count is life in prison without parole or potentially the death penalty. They've also asked the judge to issue a no-contact order with the victims’ family.
McGann's arraignment on these charges is currently set for Monday, August 25. An arraignment is a formal court hearing where a defendant is officially informed of the charges against them and enters a plea (guilty, not guilty, or no contest). But Prosecutor Carter told reporters that the date may be moved sooner, possibly to Thursday, August 14.
[Aug. 5 Update: McGann is now scheduled to be arraigned at 8 a.m. on August 14 at the Washington County Detention Center. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Joanna Taylor will preside.]
I have not seen anything on national news about Washington County’s criminal justice system, but have seen more concern locally in our school district’s hiring process.
However, I do believe that most people in our county jail are not in there due to crimes of this gravity. A crime like this is abnormal in Arkansas, at least from what I have seen/heard throughout my life here.
I believe it is important to include a ballpark figure of how many people are awaiting pre trial services. Many can’t afford a $500, $1,000 bail which is costing us taxpayers thousands of dollars, as well as resulting in the overcrowding of our jail. It’s almost ironic that we continue to incarcerate poor people and turn around ask these same people for money to fund a jail they have consistently voted no on.
I also believe it is unfair to take an abnormal situation and link it to the overcrowding of our jail. People like this — a murderer who can go on about their life with seemingly no compassion to those whose life he changed forever — deserve to be in jail, not the single mother who couldn’t afford a $150 ticket, received a FTA, and is now taking up a bed or sleeping on the floor.
I agree with you on the need for Pretrial Services – I’ve supported them since my first day in office, and I still do. In 2023, the Quorum Court was close to getting a real Pretrial Services plan from the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee. That group included leaders from across our justice system. But late that year, the County Judge suspended the committee, and the plan was never finished.
I understand your point on the jail section. I went back and updated the post to say that this case is unusual and not like most charges people in our jail face. Many are there for other reasons – often waiting for trial on lower‑level charges, including failure to appear in court. The Devil’s Den case has brought new attention to Washington County, and this post is meant to give an overview of the ongoing topics in our justice system. These include jail overcrowding, the new mental health court, the lack of pretrial services, upcoming judge and prosecutor elections, and low public defender funding.
I’ll also note that under our justice system, everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty. McGann is a suspect at this time.