DARDANELLE, Ark. (AP) - The Latest on the deaths of a sheriff’s deputy and two others in rural Arkansas (all times local):
4:15 p.m.
Authorities have identified the suspect in the killing of an Arkansas sheriff’s deputy and two women as 32-year-old James Michael Bowden.
State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said during a news conference that Bowden surrendered Thursday afternoon after a standoff with police. He says Bowden released a woman who was apparently being held hostage before he surrendered. Investigators are now questioning her.
Authorities say Bowden is suspected of fatally shooting Lt. Kevin C. Mainhart, of the Yell County Sheriff’s Office, early Thursday during a traffic stop near Dardanelle, which is about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Little Rock. He had been heading to check on a call about a disturbance.
After police found Mainhart’s body, they found the bodies of two unidentified females at the nearby home where the disturbance had been reported. They haven’t been identified.
Authorities say the suspect was holed up in that home before he surrendered.
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3:30 p.m.
The Arkansas State Police say the suspect in the killing of a sheriff’s deputy and two other people has been taken into custody.
The agency did not release details about the suspect or how the suspect was captured.
Authorities say the suspect is believed to have killed Lt. Kevin C. Mainhart, of the Yell County Sheriff’s Office, early Thursday during a traffic stop he made near Dardanelle, which is about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Little Rock. He had been heading to check on a call about a disturbance.
When police found his body, they found the bodies of two other people who had been killed.
The state police said investigators suspect those two bodies are connected to the disturbance call.
They had said the suspect had been located in a home in rural Arkansas and negotiators were trying to contact the suspect.
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2:40 p.m.
Authorities have released the name of a sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down during a traffic stop in Arkansas.
The state police say Lt. Kevin C. Mainhart, of the Yell County Sheriff’s Office, was fatally shot Thursday morning during the traffic stop near Dardanelle, about 65 miles west of Little Rock. Two other people were found dead near a home, and authorities say the deaths appear to be linked to Mainhart’s killing.
The agency says negotiators are trying to contact the suspected shooter, who is in a home in rural Arkansas.
It says Mainhart had worked as an officer in Yell County for five years and had previously worked 20 years with the West Memphis Police Department.
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12:45 p.m.
Arkansas State Police say a sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot and two other people were found dead in rural Arkansas on Thursday. Police say authorities are negotiating with a suspect who is holed up in a home.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler says the Yell County sheriff’s deputy was en route to a disturbance call Thursday morning when he pulled over a vehicle. Sadler says that deputy was fatally shot during the traffic stop.
Sadler says once officers arrived at the location of the initial disturbance call, they found two more people dead.
Sadler says authorities believe the traffic stop and the disturbance call are connected. He says the suspected shooter is now in a home in rural Arkansas and that officers are trying to coax him into surrendering.
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