Caddo Parish Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men wanted on felony gun charges in Miller County, Arkansas, said Sheriff Steve Prator.
Joseph Demarquez D. Dennis, 21, and King James Copeland, 25, both of Shreveport, were captured by sheriff’s deputies in north Caddo Parish following a vehicle pursuit that began in Texarkana, Arkansas.
At approximately 6 p.m., on Saturday, August 26, Caddo deputies were notified that two men wanted by the Miller County Sheriff's Office were traveling in a white van with a Louisiana license plate and heading southbound on I-49. Caddo deputies responded to mile marker 241 and deployed a tire deflation device to stop the suspects' approaching vehicle. To avoid the device, Copeland, who was driving the vehicle, steered the van into the median. While attempting to get back on the highway, he overcorrected and crashed the van into a line of trees. Both occupants escaped the vehicle and fled on foot into the woods south of Mira.
Deputies captured Dennis in the woods after searching for nearly two hours. An off-duty deputy spotted Copeland just before 11 p.m. walking in the 15000 block of Hosston/Rodessa Road South and detained him until deputies arrived.
During a search of the suspects' van, deputies found several firearms, including a stolen AK-47 pistol, an AR-15-style pistol, and drugs.
Copeland was charged with four counts of Possession of Firearms by a Convicted Felon, Aggravated Flight from an Officer, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, Hit and Run, No Driver's License, and In-State Fugitive for unrelated warrants issued by the Shreveport Police Department. Out-of-state charges are pending from Miller County.
Dennis was charged with Possession of a Stolen Firearm, Possession of Schedule I Narcotics, and Resisting Arrest. He also faces out-of-state charges from Miller County.
Both men are booked into the Caddo Correctional Center on a $450,000 bond for Copeland and a $50,000 bond for Dennis.
