A homeless man sought on a first-degree murder charge in connection with a fatal shooting last week was arrested Wednesday morning after someone reportedly spotted him behind a shopping center and called authorities.
Vincent Bernard Louis, 41, was being sought by Hot Springs police on a felony murder warrant for the Sept. 23 death of Cory Terrance Gibson, 39, of Hot Springs, who was found deceased from a gunshot wound at 133 Chapel St.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., a caller reported seeing a man believed to be the murder suspect behind one of the buildings at Flag Plaza South, 5001 Central Ave., which contains several restaurants and other businesses.
Garland County sheriff's deputies and investigators responded to the scene and took Louis into custody without incident and transported him to the police department for questioning.
"Louis is currently being held in the Garland County Detention Center on $250,000 bond," police said in a news release Wednesday afternoon. If convicted on the murder charge, Louis could face up to life in prison.
At the time of his arrest, Louis listed his address as "city streets." He also had a warrant for failure to pay fines.
According to earlier reports, shortly after 6 p.m. on Sept. 23, police responded to the apartments at 133 Chapel St. and found Gibson. During the ensuing investigation, Louis was developed as a suspect in the homicide.
No other details of the shooting or a possible motive have been released.
According to court records, on Sept. 25, 2017, Louis pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to five years in prison, with the entire sentence suspended.
He was previously convicted in circuit court on Aug. 4, 2014, on felony charges of possession of a firearm by certain persons and two counts of possession of a controlled substance involving meth and clonazepam and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.
On July 10, 2019, he had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of third-degree battery and first-degree criminal mischief involving an incident at the Dodge Store, 640 E. Grand Ave. He was sentenced to one year in jail with all but 15 days suspended and ordered to pay $555 in court costs and $150 in restitution to the store. He was released for time served and the failure to pay warrant was issued on Sept. 24 after he failed to make any payments.
Gibson's death was the city's 11th homicide of 2019, which resulted from 10 separate incidents of violence. Of those deaths, 10 were the result of fatal shootings, including Gibson's death. One person was brutally beaten to death.
Local on 10/03/2019