In the late hours of a Saturday, the discovery of a truck left running in the driveway of a vacant home on Parkwood Drive in Jonesboro, Arkansas, led to a grim finding. On November 30, 2019, former residents of the house alerted police to a potential burglary in progress. When officers entered the residence, they found the body of 24-year-old Andrew Emison Powell. A lifelong resident of Jonesboro, the young man had sustained apparent gunshot wounds.
Andrew was a White / Caucasian male.
The investigation into Powell's death quickly progressed, uncovering a narrative of a drug transaction that had taken a fatal turn. Investigators determined that Powell had arranged to meet several individuals at the unoccupied house. During this meeting, a misunderstanding escalated, resulting in the shooting death of Powell. The ensuing police work led to the identification and subsequent arrest of three men in connection with the homicide.
The first suspect taken into custody was Wesley Neal. Soon after, a second man, 22-year-old Kyron Stegall of Jonesboro, was apprehended. The Jonesboro Police Department then issued an arrest warrant for a third individual, JaColby “Jack” Haggard, who was considered armed and extremely dangerous. Haggard was described as a Black male, around 5'10' and weighing 175 pounds, with distinctive full tattoo sleeves on both arms. All three men were eventually brought into custody and faced charges related to the death of Andrew Powell.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a resolution to the case. JaColby Haggard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and criminal mischief, receiving a 15-year prison sentence with an additional 10 years suspended. Kyron Stegall entered a guilty plea for manslaughter and first-degree forgery, which resulted in an eight-year prison sentence with two years suspended. Wesley Neal pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to six years in prison. Court documents revealed that Haggard and Neal were inside the home with Powell during the drug deal when the fatal misunderstanding occurred, while Stegall admitted to his role in planning and carrying out the drug transaction.
