A Louisiana man is in custody in VIcksburg facing a felony charge after leading Warren County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a manhunt that lasted the better part of two days.
Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said a call to Vicksburg 911 Tuesday reported a man trespassing on property in the 2000 block of Hankinson Road.
“(The caller) was reporting that she was house sitting for an acquaintance and a white male named Cecil Steele, who she had a protection order against, had shown up at the house,” Pace said. “The protection order was issued out of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, in Ruston. One of the deputies responding spotted the car he was driving while he was leaving the area, which was a green Mustang.”
Pace said, when deputies attempted to stop the vehicle, Steele fled, leading them on a chase and reaching speeds of more than 90 miles per hour southbound on Hankinson Road before running off the roadway and fleeing the area on foot.
“The deputy gave chase on foot, but lost the individual in a heavily wooded area,” Pace said. “We brought additional resources in, including a sheriff’s office canine. County Fire Chief Jerry Briggs actually brought their drone. But, again, very thick vegetation made it difficult.”
Pace said WCSO received reports throughout the night of sightings and deputies remained on scene overnight and throughout the day Wednesday before locating Steele in an empty deer camp just before 7 p.m.
“Canine detective Dusty Keyes and his canine partner, Sgt. Ray Thompson and myself were searching a deer camp located in the 600 block of Hankinson Road, when detective Keyes located the individual in an unsecured house trailer,” Pace said. “He actually saw him through the window.”
Pace said Steele was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Warren County Jail for violation of the protection order, as well as felony eluding. Pace added that, despite the protection order violation constituting a misdemeanor offense, the circumstances surrounding Steele’s alleged violation, coupled with his reckless behavior, warranted the felony charge.
“After consulting with the (district attorney), we went with felony eluding charges,” Pace said. “Even though the pursuit was a relatively short distance, it was in a residential area, homes close to the road and speeds over 90 miles per hour constituted the nature.”
Pace also said, despite the effort WCSO put into the search, deputies did not feel local residents were in danger.
“He had a protection order from another state and he was here and went to the trouble to locate (the caller) here at that residence, and that just heightened our concern for her safety,” Pace said. “However, there was never any indication at any point that he was actually a danger to anybody else. We had no reason to think he was armed, and he wasn’t. But we wanted to get him in custody because of the domestic violence issues related to the original restraining order.”
Pace added that Steele has a standing warrant in Bude, Miss. for contractor fraud.
Following an initial appearance in Warren County Justice Court, Steele’s bond has been set at $5,000.
Pace said he understands the extended search left members of the residential neighborhood on edge and would like to thank everyone who called in with tips and information related to the investigation.
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