A Campti man wanted by the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office for first-degree murder in connection with the attempted robbery and shooting of Allen Darrel Halford of Colfax has been captured in Winnfield, according to the sheriff's office.
Shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, Winnfield Police and the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office captured A. L. Simmons II, 20, of Campti as he was hiding on the roof of an apartment in Winnfield.
Simmons was arrested and taken back to Natchitoches Parish, where he was booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center.
"We are in the early stages of our investigation. We are collecting information, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses in this case. We extend our sympathy to the Halford family. We know have to build our case with strong evidence and facts to present to the district attorney for prosecution," according to Det. Reginald Turner, the assistant chief of investigations.
Simmons became a suspect in Halford's shooting death Friday afternoon after deputies responded to reports of a dead man found in a Dodge pickup truck in a ditch in the 200 block of Greenville Drive in Clarence. Halford was pronounced dead at the scene by the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office.
Simmons left the scene before law enforcement arrived. Witnesses identified him as the shooter, deputies said.
Area law enforcement agencies were alerted to be on the lookout for Simmons. He also was entered in the National Crime Information Center as a wanted murder suspect in Natchitoches Parish.
Sheriff Victor Jones and Sheriff-elect Stuart Wright commended deputies who worked around the clock to find Simmons.