Sulphur Springs ISD Campuses Reportedly In Lock-Down Mode Wednesday As Precaution
One Pine Bluff, Arkansas man was arrested and another man remained at large Wednesday morning, Sept. 21, 2022, following first a vehicle pursuit, then a foot chase and manhunt Tuesday night in Sulphur Springs.
Because one suspect from the chase remained at large, Sulphur Springs ISD notified parents and staff Wednesday morning that district campuses were in lock-down mode as a precaution.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office deputies were made aware Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, a Dodge Challenger with a license plate thought to have been stolen from a Kia SUV was traveling on I-30 east headed toward Sulphur Springs. The white car was also determined to have been stolen as well, deputies alleged in arrest reports.
A traffic stop was initiated on the 2022 model Dodge Challenger on Jefferson Street at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday, HCSO Deputy Joshua Davis noted in arrest reports. The driver allegedly fled from law enforcement in the vehicle, continuing to attempt to evade officials. The car stopped in the back yard of a College Street residence, where Davis reported seeing two black males exit the crashed car and flee on foot.
Davis chased the passenger, calling out for the man to stop. The deputy reported catching up to Eddie Lamar Ringo Jr. at 10:18 p.m. Tuesday; the 24-year-old Pine Bluff, Arkansas man had reportedly run into “a thick wooded area on College Street at Ramsey. When asked for the driver’s information, Ringo allegedly told the deputy he had never met the driver before, and claimed the driver had picked him up at a gas station in Arkansas.
Ringo was transported to HCSO jail, where he was interviewed by the arresting deputy about the incident. The Arkansas man reportedly initially told police he did not know the man who had been driving the Challenger, and had never met him before. When the deputy told him he believed Ringo to be lying, the 24-year-old allegedly claimed he had only seen the man around but did not know his name.
The Pine Bluff man was booked into Hopkins County jail at 4:14 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, on a misdemeanor evading arrest or detention charge and a third-degree felony hindering apprehension of a felon, Davis alleged in arrest reports.
Meanwhile, additional officers from around the city converged in the area of the stolen car as well as last known direction the driver was observed running toward. The suspect Tuesday night was reported to have been last seen wearing a red shirt and green pants. He was reported to have lost his shower slides and at least one sock while fleeing authorities. He was reported to have last been seen heading south, then southwest into a nearby thicket to the west, near where the passenger was taken into custody on College at Ramsey street.
A perimeter was established in the area, with officer methodically searching within the area. Officials’ efforts, including that of a trained police canine, were reportedly hampered by the thick copse of trees in the area. Around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, a thermal imager was being utilized in the area to try to detect the suspect’s heat signature in the dark, wooded area.
Authorities around 11:40 p.m. responded to what were thought to be the sound of gunshots southwest in the area where the pair had run. At midnight authorities were still searching the area, including south on College Street, back to Putman and Ardis Streets. Deputies checked out a report of someone with a flashlight on Beckham Street headed toward Maxwell Street. Officers, at one point, were contacted about someone knocking or banging on a wall and window in the Caldwell Street area, then dispatchers reported receiving more than one call reporting windows and doors being hit or knocked on in the area of Ardis and WA Streets, just off MLK, east of Oak Avenue. One witness reported seeing a man in a red hoodie around 11 p.m. Tuesday at an Gilmer Street car lot.
Officials were still searching for the man after midnight. The driver of the Dodge Challenger, a car thought to possibly be a new car taken from a dealership or car lot, remained at large late Wednesday morning.
Sulphur Springs ISD sent alerts to students’ parents and guardians and notified staff via Blackboard system that the district would be in lock-down mode as a precaution due to the suspect remaining at large.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
