SALLISAW, Okla. — The massive manhunt for a transient accused in at least four murders is over.
Authorities arrested Stacy Lee Drake, 50, around 10:00 a.m. June 20th. They found him in woods near Morrilton, Arkansas. Documents show that OnStar, from a car he allegedly stole, tracked him to a motel in Morrilton.
Law enforcement got surveillance photos matching Drake's description, and a massive search began.
Authorities believe Drake is responsible for killing Taylor Sharp and Tara Barnett-Underwood.
While not many details have been released about Sharp, Barnett-Underwood was a mother of six and getting married. Her sister, Tia Barnett, said she was working at Le Ferry’s Propane in Gans when she was shot.
WATCH: 2 News spoke with Tara's family before Drake was found:
“She was there with a co-worker in her office and he had come off the interstate to, I guess, get another vehicle to continue his spree,” she said. “Hers was just right there.”
El Reno police confirmed Drake is a person of interest in the June 14 murder of Phillip Emerson, 56.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, authorities believe on May 14, Drake shot and killed Russell Andrews to steal his car.
Andrews was working as an Alcoholics Anonymous volunteer the night of his murder. Investigators said he was trusting and stayed with a man identified as Drake after everyone else left for the night.
“They all said he would have given him his car and money if he just asked for it,” said Captain Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. “Not a bad bone in his body.”
Captain Kennedy said Drake had only been in the area for about a week and was living as a transient. They knew he was a suspect in Andrews’ murder but hadn’t publicized it.
- Previous coverage >>> Homicide suspect arrested: Who is Stacy Lee Drake?
“It was reasonable for us to believe that he didn’t know he had been identified by us,” said Kennedy. “We thought that would aid in his capture.”
Kennedy said he had been using fake names and changing his appearance.
After decades of violent crimes across multiple states and stints in and out of prison, Drake has been given so many chances across multiple jurisdictions that it is difficult to keep track.
“It is so much, so complicated,” said Kennedy. “It may take someone a day to figure out what his status was in different jurisdictions, bonds, probations, early release, what have you.”
The most recent sentence 2 News could find is from 2022.
Under a plea bargain, he received 36 months of unsupervised probation for armed robbery. The robbery was an additional charge from a case that dated back to 2010. According to documents, the judge said Drake already served time for that crime spree.
As of August 2022, documents show he was staying in a federal government shelter and was supposed to be under its supervision for two years.
However, another document that year ordered him to a drug treatment center. It is unclear whether he showed up.
Drake is currently in the Conway County jail.
The Sequoyah County District Attorney’s Office charged him in Sharp and Barnett-Underwood’s murder. He has two first-degree murder charges and one charge of armed robbery.
“This senseless and violent act is truly heartbreaking,” said Thorp. “These victims and their loved ones deserve justice, and we will fight to see that done.”
Surveillance video allegedly shows Drake entering the business where the victims were found and then leaving in one of the victim's cars.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
