ASH FLAT, Ark. – Jacob Lowell Smith, 32, of Ash Flat, identified as a person of interest in the deaths of two local women, was taken into custody Tuesday evening in Greene County following a multi-agency operation.
Fulton County Sheriff Jake Smith announced the arrest around 8 p.m., stating that Smith was apprehended in Oak Grove Heights, several miles north of Paragould, by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Paragould Police Department, Arkansas State Police, and U.S. Marshals Service. Smith is being held at the Greene County Detention Center on an active warrant for absconding from probation and parole.
The manhunt began Oct. 21 when Fulton County deputies responded to a welfare check around 3 p.m. at a residence in the 300 block of Sweet Clover Lane in Ash Flat. There, they discovered the bodies of Tonya Stallings, 54, and Ashley Stallings, 33, both of Ash Flat. The victims, identified as mother and stepdaughter, were transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock to determine the cause and manner of death.
Authorities described Smith as armed and dangerous during the search. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall with a slender build, blue eyes, blonde hair—possibly dyed—and heavily tattooed, including a distinctive bow tie tattoo on his neck and throat. A statewide Be On the Lookout alert was issued Oct. 23.
On Oct. 22, a joint team including Arkansas State Police, U.S. Marshals, Mountain Home Police, and Baxter County deputies executed a search warrant at an apartment complex on Highway 201 north of Mountain Home to apprehend Smith on the absconder warrant and gather evidence related to the deaths. Smith was not located there.
The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division assisted Fulton County authorities from the outset, confirming the victims’ identities and Smith’s status as a person of interest.
Sheriff Jake Smith said the investigation remains ongoing and the case is still open. No charges related to the deaths have been filed against Smith at this time. He urged anyone with information to contact the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office at 870-895-2601.
