On the evening of November 20, 2020, in Arkansas City, Kansas, a tragic event unfolded that would end the life of 38-year-old Samuel Hutton. At approximately 9:30 p.m., police were dispatched to the intersection of Madison Avenue and the U.S. 77 bypass following a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Hutton inside a vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Emergency services promptly transported him to South Central Kansas Medical Center, but his injury proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led police to identify a suspect, 40-year-old James Lyle Clark. Authorities determined that the shooting had not occurred at the intersection where Hutton was found, but rather at Clark's residence located at 1325 South A Street in the southeastern part of the city. A search warrant for the home was obtained and executed overnight as law enforcement began a manhunt for Clark.
The search for the suspect continued through the night. With the assistance of the Cowley County Sheriff's Office, James Lyle Clark was located east of Arkansas City in the early morning hours of November 21, 2020. He was taken into custody without incident at approximately 5:35 a.m. and was subsequently booked into the Cowley County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder.
