Arkansas lawmen arrested a man early Thursday who'd been wanted in a fatal shooting in Pine Bluff.
Quincy Martez Chambers, 24, was arrested in rural Pulaski County about 2:20 a.m. after a seven-hour manhunt, Arkansas State Police reported. He was charged with capital murder in the slaying of Derrick Matthews.
Matthews, 30, was found shot to death in a car at 10th Avenue and Palm Street in Pine Bluff on Dec. 29. Pine Bluff police named Chambers as a suspect later that day.
Chambers had also been wanted on a second-degree domestic battery charge. He's accused of beating his pregnant ex-girlfriend and striking her in the face with a hammer last month.
Multiple agencies, including the Pulaski County, Grant County and Saline County sheriff's offices joined state police in searching for Chambers on Wednesday night after he fled a traffic stop in Hensley at about 7 p.m., according to state police.
Chambers reportedly crashed a pickup on Interstate 530 near Woodson Lateral Road and fled on foot into a wooded area nearby.
State police deployed a search helicopter, and after several hours, authorities began receiving calls from Hensley residents who'd seen a suspicious man outside their homes, spokesman Bill Sadler said. One call led authorities to a house on Hensley Road south of the interstate, where Chambers was found and arrested early Thursday.
No injuries were reported.
Authorities believe Chambers, who was last known to reside at 1602 W. 29th St. in Pine Bluff, was traveling to Little Rock.
"It became very apparent that Chambers was attempting to find a vehicle or a means of transportation out of the area," Sadler said. "And he was going to houses where he thought he might be able to obtain the vehicle under the cover of darkness or get somebody to the front door to maybe overpower them and drive him out of the area."
The Jefferson County sheriff's office took custody of Chambers after he was arrested.
Pine Bluff police have released few details about his possible involvement in Matthews' death, including how Chambers was established as a suspect.
"There's some things that we don't want to throw out there yet, because we don't want to tip him off to everything we know," department spokesman Lt. David Price said. "Once we've had him a little bit longer and had a chance to properly interview him ... the detectives might release a little more information."
According to a court affidavit, police had been investigating Chambers in a separate case since Dec. 11. That's when officers responded to Jacksonville Regional Medical Center and interviewed his ex-girlfriend, Keosha Collins, who being treated for several facial injuries.
Collins, who was four months pregnant with Chambers' child, told police they'd been in a fight at her apartment. She said Chambers had kicked her in the stomach and struck her in the face with a hammer "in front of their young children," the affidavit states.
Court records show Chambers had been on probation after felony burglary and theft convictions.
He was being held in the Jefferson County jail late Thursday.
Metro on 01/08/2016