We know you’ve been curious as to the punishment that would be meted out to Stephen R. Walker, the former COO for Phoenix Renewable Energy of Hot Springs, who pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion way back in March 2011.
You’ll just have to keep wondering. His sentencing date, originally May 17, has been pushed back to 11 a.m. June 29 in front of U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson.
Nothing on the public record indicates the reason for the delay. But Walker, 45, is no longer roaming the streets as he was for the first year after his guilty plea. He was picked up March 9 by the Garland County Sheriff’s Office on a probation violation.
Neither the sheriff’s office nor several other agencies immediately could tell Whispers what the violation was or why he was on probation. But we do know that he has been in the Garland County jail ever since, unable to post a $10,000 bond.
Walker is facing up to five years in federal prison on the charge of evasion of assessment. In 2005, Walker earned about $310,000 and owed nearly $90,000 in taxes, but he never filed a return, according to the indictment.
Walker’s tax charges occurred before he began working for Phoenix, a company that promised to bring a wood pellet plant to Camden but didn’t.
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