OKLAHOMA CITY — A man suspected of being involved in multiple murders in Oklahoma and Alabama was arrested Thursday after a nearly two-day investigation, authorities said.
According to the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, suspect Stacey Lee Drake, 50, was taken into custody without incident in a wooded area south of an intersection in Morrilton, Arkansas, around 10 a.m. Authorities said the suspect was wanted in connection with three murders in Oklahoma and a fourth murder in Alabama.
“Drake is wanted in connection with a murder and autojacking incident in Oklahoma and has other felony warrants out for his arrest in multiple jurisdictions for robbery, autojacking and murder,” the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said in a news release.
The Arkansas Department of Public Safety had warned residents in the Morrilton area, about 50 miles northwest of Little Rock, to be on the lookout after Drake was seen outside a motel in the city. Authorities said Wednesday that Drake was known to have purchased camping equipment before his arrest, suggesting he is still in the area.
Drake has an extensive criminal history and police described him as armed and dangerous.
“If you look at his criminal history, he’s continued to escalate his violent behavior,” Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Capt. Jack Kennedy said at a news conference Thursday. “He’s committed at least three murders, possibly four, as far as we know, in the last two months, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other unsolved murders in other jurisdictions.”
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Suspect is linked to at least three murders in Oklahoma and one in Alabama
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist with the investigation of a homicide that took place in Gunns, a town in Sequoyah County near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. According to the bureau, deputies with the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a call about two deaths.
When officers arrived on scene, they found an adult male and female deceased inside a propane gas store, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Police said in a court affidavit that a man and woman, identified as Taylor Sharp and Tara Underwood, were shot. Sharp and Underwood were employees of LaFerries Propane.
Authorities identified Drake as a suspect after reviewing surveillance footage, which showed him leaving the business and driving away in Underwood’s 2016 GMC Acadia, according to the affidavit. The vehicle was later spotted in Morrilton late Tuesday night.
Drake is also suspected of killing a man in El Reno, a city just west of Oklahoma City. Shortly after his arrest on Thursday, the El Reno Police Department confirmed to local TV station KOCO 5 that Drake had been identified as a suspect in the June 14 murder.
According to KOCO 5, the man, identified as 56-year-old Phillip Emerson, was found dead in his home and his vehicle was presumably stolen by the suspects.
In Alabama, Kennedy said Drake is suspected of killing Alcoholics Anonymous counselor Russell Andrews, 62, around May 14. Police were called to an Alcoholics Anonymous club in downtown Tuscaloosa after Andrews was found dead inside the building.
Kennedy said surveillance footage showed Andrew’s car disappearing from the scene and then being stolen by the suspect, who later found it hours later near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.
Who is Stacey Lee Drake?
Authorities have previously said Drake was from Birmingham, Alabama, but Kennedy noted Thursday that the suspect is not from the state.
“(Drake) had been arrested 15 years ago in Alabama for numerous violent crimes,” Kennedy said, adding that Drake has been linked to an address in Birmingham and “may have been connected to his presence in a homeless shelter there.”
Drake had only been in Tuscaloosa a week or two ago, according to Kennedy, who described him as a “vagrant” with no fixed address and a criminal record in several states.
Based on a background check, Kennedy said investigators believe Drake spent a lot of time in Oklahoma and Arizona. Drake also was a federal prison inmate “at various times in his career” and had an open federal case for parole violations, Kennedy said.
“At the time he was in Tuscaloosa, he was using a false name and possibly changing his clothing, including a hat and glasses,” Kennedy said. “It appears he was traveling around the country using false names and living this lifestyle in order to avoid incarceration.”
