An Ash Flat man who is a person of interest in a double homicide that occurred in Fulton County last week has been arrested in northeast Arkansas. Fulton County Sheriff Jake Smith says 32-year-old Jacob Lowell Smith was arrested Tuesday night in Greene County by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Paragould Police Department, Arkansas State Police and U.S. Marshals. Smith was arrested on an outstanding warrant for absconding.
The Fulton County sheriff says many agencies have spent countless hours in the past week searching for Smith. He says Smith will be held in the Greene County Detention Center in Paragould for the time being.
Smith was identified as a person of interest early on in the investigation into the deaths of 54-year-old Tonya Stallings and her step daughter, 33-year-old Ashley Stallings. Fulton County deputies were called to a house just west of Ash Flat on Sweet Clover Lane last Tuesday afternoon for an unresponsive person. When they arrived, they discovered the two women dead inside the home. Their bodies were sent to the Arkansas State Crime lab to determine the cause of death.
During their investigation, law enforcement learned Smith had been living at an apartment complex on State Highway 201 north of Mountain Home. They executed a search warrant at the apartment last Wednesday morning, but Smith was not at the apartment. Sheriff Smith said at the time it was clear at some point Smith learned he had an active warrant and was named as a person of interest in the murders.
A check of court records shows Smith has six felony arrests in Arkansas dating back to 2017. His charges have included robbery, breaking or entering, theft of property, fleeing, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
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