By Ray King
Police investigations into two separate murders, one in October 2021 and the second in February of this year have resulted in the arrest of suspects in both cases.
Stephen Washington, 67, of Hermitage was booked into the adult detention center Wednesday charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 10, 2021 shooting death of Norris Perry Jr., at 4001 Old Warren Road.
Booked in Thursday was Michael Hill, 22, of Pine Bluff who is charged with capital murder, aggravated assault, 12 counts of discharging a firearm from a vehicle and 10 counts of committing a terroristic act.
The charges against Hill stem from the shooting death of Miguel Hoyt on Feb. 9 at 103 Park Place.
Hoyt was found inside a locked vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed March 1, Washington told police he had shot Perry because Perry shot at him first.
When Washington was interviewed, he said Perry was at the door of his (Washington’s) apartment when he fired his gun at Perry. He said once he fired his gun, Perry ran down the stairs of the apartments. He also said he did not recall how many times he shot toward Perry.
Bond for Washington was set at $500,000.
A probable cause affidavit on Hill that was also filed March 1 said witnesses told police they saw a box style car flee from the scene at a high rate of speed and detectives were able to locate a vehicle matching that description that had been in the area. The owner of that vehicle said Hill had driven the car on the day of the shooting.
When Hill was initially questioned, he denied owning a gun and said he did not know anything about a murder. A witness told police the driver and a passenger in a car had fired shots at him in the area of Park Place and Main Street on the same day Hoyt was killed. That vehicle belonged the girlfriend of Hill.
Hill will be held without bond on the charges.
