Pine Bluff police chief gives crime update at town hall

Written By Apo July 23, 2025 Add Comment

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Pine Bluff Police Chief Shirley Warrior told the community that it was important for her department to release information quickly during a Tuesday Town Hall in the city.

Warrior said releasing information was a matter of the department being transparent.

“We don’t want to wait a month and then have people wondering why we waited so long,” the chief said.

Warrior gave updates on two recent shooting deaths in the city.

The July 19 shooting death of 14-year-old Floyd Allen of Pine Bluff marked the first juvenile homicide in more than a year-and-a-half, she said, adding that police arrested 18-year-old Dicoreon Ford in the case.

Thirty-six-year-old Markee Avery was killed just a day earlier, and a short manhunt led to the arrest of 37-year-old Michael King, Warrior said. Police are still searching for King’s brother, 39-year-old LaMarcus Benton, in connection to Avery’s death.

According to the Pine Bluff police detectives, the city had eight homicides since the start of 2025. Six of those cases are cleared, they said.

Warrior continued to detail homicide investigations.

Two weeks before Allen and Avery were killed, there had been just four reported homicides in the city, she said. An ongoing investigation and the death of a victim earlier in July, however, caused the homicide numbers to spike, Warrior explained.

Police reported 34-year-old Antonio Gardner was shot on June 14 but died on July 10. Twenty-nine-year-old Keyontae Johnson is a suspect in his death, she said.

The investigation into an infant’s death in a motel bathtub on June 14 has resulted in homicide charges for the child’s mother, 24-year-old LaCrystal Matthews, the chief said.

Year-over-year, homicides for July are up from one in 2024 to two in 2025.

Warrior encouraged all city residents to help fight crime, from small acts such as reporting possible gunfire to tipping detectives about major crimes, to even helping a couple receive counseling and move away from potential domestic violence.

from KARK https://ift.tt/Swte07f