A manhunt for a “very dangerous” armed felon, who is wanted in connection with four killings across two states, has focused on a small Arkansas town after police said he had purchased camping gear and was still in the area.
Stacy Lee Drake, 50, has a warrant out for his arrest in Alabama for homicide, and is suspected of three other killings in Oklahoma.
“All indications” were that he was still in area of Morrilston, Arkansas, on Wednesday evening after having purchased camping gear, authorities said.
Surveillance footage photos of Drake, showed him wearing a flat cap to cover his face, a large backpack and carrying two plastic bags.
At 7.50pm on Tuesday, Morrilton Police Department (MPD) received a tip from state police about a stolen vehicle, parked at a local hotel, that had been spotted at the scene of a double murder in Oklahoma.
Drake, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, was captured on footage from the hotel’s parking lot.
The hotel was searched but Drake wasn’t found. Police do not know whether the suspect was picked up in a vehicle or left the area on foot.
Drake is believed to be armed with a handgun and was described by authorities as “very dangerous.” He is around 5’11 and 185lbs.
Further images provided by police show Drake wearing a dark-colored shirt and sunglasses.
Anyone who has information about Drake’s whereabouts has been urged to contact the Morrilton Police Department.
Police in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma had requested help from state authorities following a double homicide in Gans. The bodies of a man and a woman were found inside a building near a state highway around 6.30pm on Monday.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation said both had injuries consistent with homicide. The victims were transported to the medical examiner’s office for identification and to determine cause and manner of death.
Drake was identified by police as a person of interest in the killings.
One victim in the Oklahoma double homicide was named by family as Taylor Sharp. In a social media post, Sharp’s family urged people to be cautious if they encountered Drake.
A relative, Linda Biggs, posted on Facebook: “My family needs prayers and we also want Justice for my nephew Taylor Sharp, he was one of the two murdered victims in Sequoyah County.
“Everybody be cautious if you see the suspect Stacy Lee Drake he just murdered someone else in Morrilton and we don’t know which way he is going, lock your doors and be safe.”
Drake is a convicted felon with a sprawling rap sheet that includes burglary, kidnapping, armed robbery, and aggravated assault against an officer.
He was sentenced to 22 years in 2010 after being convicted of carjacking; being a felon in possession of a firearm; and brandishing a firearm during the carjacking, according to KSCB News.
Drake was accused of threatening a man with a .45 caliber pistol as the man left a grocery store and stole his wallet, food, and red GMC truck. He was chased by police for eight miles before he crashed the truck and was captured.
At the time, he was facing prosecution for at least four other crimes in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Alabama, according to the Tuscaloosa office of the FBI.
