Arkansas State Police captured a man Tuesday evening who was identified earlier in the day as the person of interest sought since Friday's manhunt at Cutter Morning Star School.
State police Troop K Capt. Mark Allen said Trooper Brandon Cook attempted to make a traffic stop around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on a truck driven by a cousin of the person of interest, identified earlier in the day as Kenno A. Forrest, 30, who was a passenger in the vehicle.
During the traffic stop, Forrest allegedly pushed his cousin from the truck and fled in the vehicle.
Allen said a short chase followed but Forrest abandoned the truck and tried to escape on foot, but was apprehended by Cook.
"He dinged up the trooper's car a little bit, but it is the suspect and he is in custody," Allen told The Sentinel-Record.
Forrest was identified as a person of interest Tuesday afternoon in a news release from the Garland County Sheriff's Department, which stated that the department has active felony warrants for Forrest and Arkansas Community Correction has an absconder warrant.
"This is a perfect example of multiple agencies working together coming to a great end with this guy in custody," Sheriff's Lt. Joel Ware said shortly after Forrest's capture.
According to the release, Forrest was "to be considered to be armed, dangerous and extremely aggressive."
Monday night, the sheriff's department, Arkansas State Police and parole officers were working to locate Forrest in the Fountain Lake area. Ware said the sheriff's office received a call from the junction of highways 5 and 7 that Forrest was in the area driving a green Honda Accord.
"He was also being followed by his mother," Ware said.
Ware said the Honda was reported stolen Monday morning. Some damage was done to the vehicle when Forrest allegedly abandoned it and fled on foot. The sheriff's and police departments had K-9 units on the scene that Ware said tracked Forrest for a few hours before the dogs began to tire.
"We haven't stopped looking for him since Friday," Ware said. "The search is on, and it's going to continue until he's in custody."
"It's just an ongoing investigation and we're following up on every lead," Sheriff Mike McCormick said Tuesday before Forrest was captured.
He also confirmed reports that a person believed to be Forrest knocked on a resident's door Monday night asking for help.
Forrest was being sought in connection with an incident that began around 5:30 a.m. Friday at Fountain Lake School. A teacher, who was a bus driver, arrived at the campus to find a suspect driving a truck out of the school's bus barn dragging a hose behind it. The employee followed the truck after calling 911, and upon reaching Surrey Road the driver stopped in the middle of the road, reached out the window and allegedly fired a shot at the employee.
The employee reported the incident to Fountain Lake's transportation director, who filed a report with sheriff's investigators of the theft of about 500 gallons of gasoline.
Around 9 a.m. Friday, Sgt. Bill House and Cpl. Greg Keller, who were at the intersection of Westinghouse and Spring near Cutter Morning Star School, attempted a traffic stop on the suspect's vehicle. House fired shots at the truck's tires when the suspect allegedly tried to hit him and Keller, and rammed Keller's unit.
The suspect then drove through the school's playground fence trying to flee before abandoning the truck behind the school's bus barn.
The suspect fled on foot and manhunt ensued that involved the sheriff's department, Hot Springs Police Department, state police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arkansas Department of Correction, and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
During the search, Cutter Morning Star and Lakeside schools went into lockdown.
Local on 01/28/2015