Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

South Fork Manhunt Leads To Arrest Later; Suspect Is Charged

What started as a routine traffic stop wound up being a three-day manhunt in Clark County.

According to Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker, shortly before midnight, Tuesday, Feb. 4, Deputy Terry Palmer saw a vehicle swerving in the east lane of Interstate 30.

The truck, a white, four-wheel drive, Chevrolet, swerved onto a shoulder of I-30 and was somewhat erratic.

Palmer followed the truck to the parking lot of Dillard's Shell Station on Highway 53. As he pulled in behind the vehicle, the driver started backing up.

Palmer, Tucker said, left his patrol car to talk with the driver. The officer determined the license plate on the truck belonged to another vehicle, and also noticed the vent window on the driver's side was broken.

He asked the driver, who was identified as Lewis Jones, to get out, but Jones sped up and left the scene, almost running over the deputy in the process.

Jones crossed I-30, going into a wooded area on the north side of the South Fork Truck Stop, where he crashed the truck and fled into the woods on foot.

Palmer called for reinforcements, with a perimeter being established along I-30 and Highway 53 to contain the suspect. The CCSO was aided in this by the Gurdon Police Department.

The search continued into Wednesday. Tucker said they learned the truck had been stolen from Miller County Wednesday afternoon, as it was reported missing from a car lot between 11 and 11:30 a.m. that day.

He said a suspect was developed by the Miller County Sheriff's Office, and through photos, they were able to identify Jones.

The CCSO also learned of Jones' lengthy criminal history dating back to 1958. Jones' criminal past included bank robbery, theft and burglary. Tucker said they knew he had the potential to be violent and dangerous.

Upon learning this, Tucker called for help from the Arkansas State Police, and also got an airplane in the air to search for Jones.

The search continued in the South Fork area until Thursday night, when officials got a tip someone had seen the news and recognized Jones. They provided information as a possible location for the suspect.

Clark County officials also learned Jones may have connections in Clark County, which allowed him to slip through the cordon and escape into Garland County, where he had a home.

Tucker and eight deputies met with members of the Garland County Sheriff's Office concerning Jones. The two departments set up a perimeter around his home at 1:30 a.m. Friday, waiting between four-and-a-half and five hours for Jones to come out and surrender.

Jones officially gave up around 6:30 Friday morning.

To date, he has only been charged with aggravated assault, but there are outstanding felony warrants against him in Miller and Faulkner counties.

Tucker said the investigation is continuing, as the CCSO has determined Jones is involved with thefts in Arkansas and Louisiana. He said several felony charges are expected to be filed on Jones.

In fact, the possible charges have grown to a point where Tucker called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their help.

However, one of the first things to be determined is what Jones' real name and age are. Tucker said he went by several aliases, along with different ages on his identification.

Jones currently is being held in the Clark County jail without bond.