A 17-year old suspect is still at large and an 18-year old baseball player is in a stable condition after being struck by a stray bullet in the middle of a game on Saturday evening.
As of Monday morning, 20-year old Demarco Banks, one of two suspects identified, is in custody after turning himself in overnight. The other, 17-year old Kamauri Butler is still at large.
The incident occurred during a baseball game between Texas A&M – Texarkana and the University of Houston – Victoria at George Dobson Field at Spring Lake Park in Texarkana, Texas.
According to reports, police received several calls of shots fired on Lynda Street, a neighborhood just west of Spring Park, and moments later received a 911 call that a baseball player had collapsed and may have been shot.
“We were able to almost immediately determine that the two incidents were related, so as some officers were at the ball field rendering aid to the victim, other officers were on Lynda Street looking for any evidence or witnesses. Those officers located several spent shell casings in the front yard of a residence there. Our detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the house on Lynda and determined that the incident started as a disturbance there that lead to two men shooting at each other in front of the house. One of those errant rounds travelled about 400 yards and struck the innocent victim at the ball field. Both the Butler and Banks fled the area before officers got there, but we made arrests of three other men who were there after detectives obtained a search warrant for the house and several vehicles at the scene,” said the Texarkana Texas Police Department in a statement.
Officers arrested 49-year old Yankeengea Smith for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine and Ecstasy pills), 19-year old Nathan Moore for Tampering with Evidence and Possession of Marijuana, and 19-year old Marcell Beaver for Possession of Marijuana.
Police also cleared up rumors that the suspects were either at Spring Lake Park or driving through there when the victim was shot.
“That’s simply not the case at all. The disturbance and shooting all happened on Lynda Street and had nothing to do with the park itself or any event going on there. Tragically, one of the shots that Butler and Banks fired at each other on Lynda Street travelled several hundred feet and struck the unsuspecting victim at the ballpark.”
If you know where Kamauri Butler can be found, please call us at 903-798-3876 or Texarkana Area Crime Stoppers at 903-793-STOP.
