In the small Louisiana city of Lecompte, an argument in the early morning hours of Halloween turned deadly, claiming the life of James Barfield. Mr. Barfield, a 34-year-old Black man, was a resident of Lecompte.
Around 1 a.m. on October 31, 2024, the Lecompte Police Department received a call about a shooting on Union Street. When officers arrived, they found James Barfield unresponsive. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives and crime scene personnel from the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office were called to take over the investigation.
Investigators learned that Mr. Barfield had been in a verbal dispute with another man just before the shooting. According to authorities, the argument escalated dramatically when the other man allegedly brandished a firearm and began firing at Mr. Barfield, striking him and causing his fatal injuries. The shooter also allegedly fired at witnesses who were fleeing the area before he left the scene.
The suspect was quickly identified as Arcenio Ramon Bowie, a 35-year-old also from Lecompte. While law enforcement prepared warrants for his arrest, Bowie turned himself in to the Lecompte Police Department at about 3 a.m., just two hours after the shooting.
Bowie was arrested and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder. His bail was set at $1.5 million. As of April 2026, the case against Arcenio Ramon Bowie was still pending. His trial for second-degree murder had been continued to October 26.
