Crash of slain man’s truck leads to hunt for teen, police scuffle

BOONEVILLE — Officers from several agencies were searching Wednesday night for 19-year-old Lewis Shores, a suspect in Tuesday’s death of an elderly Fort Smith couple.

“We believe there is a great possibility this subject is connected to the double homicide in Fort Smith,” Fort Smith police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Rice said Wednesday.

Rice wouldn’t comment Wednesday on whether a warrant had been issued for Shores, saying the investigation was ongoing.

Logan County Sheriff Boyd Hicks said his office received information Wednesday afternoon that Shores was involved in a traffic accident west of Booneville on Tuesday that involved three vehicles, one of which was a pickup belonging to Jimmy Grubb.

Grubb, 81, and his wife, Norma, 79, were found dead in their home in the 7700 block of Hermitage Drive.

Hicks said while Booneville police waited Wednesday for Fort Smith police to make their way to Booneville to assist in the arrest, Hicks set up surveillance at a home on East Venable Street in case Shores tried to leave the residence.

Shores left, and Hicks said he got in his vehicle and chased him as Shores began to run down the street. When the sheriff caught up with Shores, Hicks jumped out of his vehicle and grabbed Shores, ripping off his shirt, and both tumbled to the pavement.

Hicks said he landed on and injured his right shoulder. The two men wrestled on the ground but because of his injured shoulder, Hicks said he could not stop Shores from punching him in the head and trying to choke him.

He said he rolled over on Shores using his weight against him. Shores went for Hicks’ gun on his right hip and had both hands on it when Hicks rolled over on top of the gun so Shores couldn’t get it.

Shores got up and began running again. A deputy drove up, and he and Hicks chased Shores until Shores ran into thick foliage and disappeared.

About 30 officers from state, county and local law enforcement agencies, along with tracking dogs and an Arkansas State Police helicopter, converged on south Booneville, where they set up a perimeter around a pond off South Sharpe Avenue after someone reported seeing Shores along the bank, Hicks said.

Searchers had not located Shores as of 8:45 p.m. Wednesday. Hicks could not say how long the search would last.

Logan County’s part in the murder investigation began Tuesday morning when the sheriff’s office received a report of a three-vehicle traffic accident on Arkansas 10 just west of Booneville. One vehicle was a pickup.

The driver of the pickup fled the scene carrying a red suitcase, Hicks said. He said witnesses described the man was a male, and between 16 and 21 years old, and wearing a blue shirt, bluejeans and red shoes.

Deputies checked the license plate number and found that it belonged to Grubb’s pickup. Hicks said his office notified the Fort Smith Police Department, which sent officers to the Grubbs’ residence and found the couple dead inside.

At that point, a manhunt for the pickup driver began, Hicks said. About 30 state, county and city law enforcement officers searched an area of about 2 miles around the accident scene.

An Arkansas State Police trooper found the red suitcase behind a shed at a house not far from where the accident occurred.

Hicks said the manhunt lasted until about 11 p.m. Tuesday, when Fort Smith police reported that they had arrested the Grubbs’ grandson, Gentry Rainwater Jr., 37.

Rainwater was arrested at a home in the 2900 block of Memphis Street. A Fort Smith police news release said police sought Rainwater because he lived with his grandparents, was an absconder from parole and his whereabouts Tuesday were unknown.

Rice said Wednesday that Rainwater was not a suspect in the homicide.

“We have not arrested anyone for this homicide,” Rice said. “This is still an ongoing investigation.”

According to jail records, Rainwater was being held on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to pay fines and two counts of failure to appear. The police news release said Rainwater also was arrested on a warrant for absconding.