By John Dobberstein, Editor
A career criminal suspected in at least four homicides, three of them in Oklahoma, was apprehended by authorities Thursday morning in a wooded area in central Arkansas.
The Arkansas State Police (ASP), Morrilton Police Department and Conway County Sheriff’s Office arrested Stacy Lee Drake, 50, of Birmingham, Ala. at about 10 a.m. near the intersection of University Boulevard and Poor Farm Road in Morrilton.
ASP said he was taken into custody without incident after a manhunt that began late Tuesday. The Arkansas National Guard and the Arkansas Division of Community Correction assisted in the search.
Drake is wanted in connection with homicides and carjackings in Oklahoma and is wanted on other felony warrants from multiple jurisdictions, with charges including aggravated robbery, carjacking, and murder. He’s being held at the Conway County Detention Center.
Drake was described by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation as a “person of interest” in the murders of Taylor Sharp and Tara Underwood last Tuesday at LaFerry’s Propane near Gans, Okla., a small town southeast of Sallisaw. Both were employees.
Sequoyah County Sheriff’s deputies had responded to LaFerry’s around 6:30 p.m. that evening and found the victims. A vehicle Drake allegedly stole from the property was later found in Morrilton.
The other homicide that authorities believe Drake is connected to occurred June 14 in El Reno and involved a carjacking, the El Reno Police Department confirmed to KOCO in Oklahoma City.
According to reports from 5News in Arkansas, Drake has felony convictions dating back to 1994 and was most recently sentenced to 36 months of unsupervised probation in 2022 in Alabama for first-degree robbery.
“Taylor was an unbelievable father, a loved son, and an amazing friend. He brought a laugh and smile to any room he entered,” according to a GoFundMe fundraiser set up for Sharp. “Taylor was the most giving individual, never expecting anything in return. He dedicated his daily life to his 3 boys, working endless hours to provide and teaching them the value of a hard earned day and the knowledge they would need to continue on in life.”
Underwood was a mother of three and her father, Randy Barnett, put a GoFundMe fundraiser together to raise money for burial expenses and to support the kids.
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