Travis Cental Wallace, a 41-year-old Black man, was a dedicated police officer and a five-year veteran of the Helena-West Helena Police Department in Arkansas. He was remembered by his chief as a leader and a brother who deeply cared for the community he served.
In the early evening of November 12, 2020, Officer Wallace was on duty in West Helena, actively seeking a suspect wanted in connection with a shooting that had occurred a week prior.
The search led him to the Delta Inn Motel on U.S. Highway 49, where he spotted the suspect in a sport utility vehicle. As the vehicle attempted to leave the motel parking lot, Officer Wallace used his patrol car to block its path.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Latarius Quayshun Howard, exited his SUV and began firing at Officer Wallace. Though wounded, Officer Wallace managed to return fire. The gunman then got back into the vehicle, which was driven by another individual, and the pair fled the scene. Officer Wallace was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
A massive manhunt for the suspects was immediately launched, involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service. The following day, both suspects were apprehended in Mississippi. Latarius Howard was arrested in Shaw, and his alleged accomplice, 24-year-old Bruce Hillie, was arrested in Indianola.
Howard was charged with capital murder for the death of Officer Wallace, while Hillie, the alleged getaway driver, was charged with hindering apprehension. Latarius Quayshun Howard was subsequently tried and convicted of capital murder. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
