A man who was linked to multiple homicides in Oklahoma and Alabama was arrested Thursday after a nearly two-day manhunt, authorities said.
Stacy Lee Drake, 50, was taken into custody without incident at about 10 a.m. in a wooded area south of an intersection in Morrilton, Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Department of Public Safety. He was wanted in connection with the slayings of three people in Oklahoma and a fourth in Alabama, authorities said.
“Drake is wanted in connection with homicides and carjackings in Oklahoma and is wanted on other felony warrants from multiple jurisdictions, with charges including aggravated robbery, carjacking, and murder,” the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said in a news release.
The Arkansas Department of Public Safety had warned residents in the area of Morrilton, about 50 miles northwest of Little Rock, to be on alert after he was spotted outside a motel in the city. Prior to his arrest, authorities said Wednesday that Drake was known to have purchased camping gear that indicated that he was still in the area.
Drake, who has an extensive criminal history, was described by law enforcement as armed and dangerous.
“If you look at his criminal history, he was continuously escalating his violent behavior,” Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Capt. Jack Kennedy said at a news conference Thursday. “He is now at least responsible for three, possibly four homicides that we know about in the last two months. So, I would not be surprised if there’s other homicides out there that are unsolved in other jurisdictions.”
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