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**Little Rock Defense Attorney Bobby Forrest Jr. Announces Run for Prosecutor, Challenging Incumbent Will Jones**
**Little Rock, AR –** Bobby Forrest Jr., a Little Rock native, defense attorney, small business owner, and brother of a murder victim, has announced his candidacy for Prosecutor of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, challenging incumbent Will Jones. The nonpartisan election, set to coincide with the state’s primaries in March, will determine who will lead the prosecutor’s office for Perry and Pulaski counties starting in January 2027.
Forrest, 33, unveiled his campaign platform, dubbed “SMART Justice,” promising bold and innovative solutions to combat violent crime, support victims, address child perpetrators, and protect witnesses. Details of the five-point plan will be released on his campaign website on Monday. Forrest currently runs The Chosen Law Group and owns Xperience Kitchen and Lounge restaurant in downtown Little Rock. He hopes to be the first Black elected prosecutor for the district.
Jones, 50, a career prosecutor who secured the post in 2022 with 53% of the vote, is seeking a second term. He touts his accomplishments of his first term as helping reduce crime, improving services for victims, prioritizing community outreach and increasing the efficiency of the prosecutor’s office, claiming a 44% decrease in Pulaski County’s homicide rate from 2022 to 2024. “I’ve spent decades fighting for crime victims and safer communities with integrity and honesty, and I welcome the chance to compare our records in law enforcement and the justice system,” Jones stated.
Forrest, in contrast, paints a bleak picture of the region’s public safety, citing 25 murders this year and describing a “broken justice system.” He connects his ambition to the unsolved murder of his sister, Ursula Graham, who was found shot to death in her car in October 2023. He launched his campaign in front of the sheriff’s office, honoring his sister’s work as a deputy, saying, “That pain lit a fire in me, a deeper drive to stop the bleeding, to prevent another family from feeling what mine has felt.”
Forrest acknowledges a blemish on his past law enforcement career, referring to his termination from the Jacksonville Police Department in 2015 after he was found to have misused a law enforcement database to help a friend who inadvertently bought a stolen gun. He describes it as a “young man’s mistake” made while trying to help a friend and calls for voters to consider his broader track record. Jones held the position for one term and is up for reelection.
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