An investigation that began when police were called to a homicide at the intersection of Iris Street and Howard Drive on April 8th has resulted in the arrest of a Pine Bluff man on probable cause of capital murder.
Tony Warren, 20, who had been in jail on drug-related charges since the day after the shooting, was not interviewed after he asked for an attorney. Clifton McDowell, 24, was found lying in the street near a black GMC Yukon that had several bullet holes in it, and he had what appeared to be several gunshot wounds to the upper body. He was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police obtained security video from two houses on Howard Drive, one of which showed a black GMC Yukon pull up to a stop sign at the intersection of Iris Street and Howard Drive. A burgundy Chrysler 200 then pulled up alongside the Yukon. The Yukon sped off, taking a right on Howard Drive, then crashing into a vehicle in one of the yards. Warren was identified as the shooter by an anonymous caller, and on April 9th, vice and narcotics detectives conducted a traffic stop on a Chrysler 200 driven by Warren. The vehicle had a dent that exactly matched the one on the vehicle shown in the security video.
During a search of the vehicle, a .45-caliber handgun and suspected marijuana were located, but the search was stopped until a search warrant could be obtained. Warren was taken to the Detective Office, where he was interviewed by Rucker. His cell phone was seized after a search warrant was obtained for it. During the search, texts were found from a female to Warren at 1:07 p.m. asking where he was, Warren replied that he was on Howard Drive. McDowell was shot at 1:12 p.m.
This was the 11th homicide of the year in Pine Bluff.
