Jury Convicts Man in 2020 Killing of Local Police Officer

A Phillips County jury on December 15, 2025 found 34 year old Latarius Quayshun Howard guilty of Capital Murder in the 2020 shooting death of Helena West Helena Police Officer Travis Wallace, 41. The jury returned a sentence of life imprisonment in the Arkansas Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 15 years for a firearm enhancement. The conviction follows an investigation and a multiagency manhunt that began after the shooting.

Howard was located and taken into custody by Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Marshals Service in Mississippi in November 2020. Authorities say he surrendered without resistance in Shaw, Mississippi. The underlying shooting occurred on November 12, 2020 outside the Delta Inn at 1207 U.S. Highway 49 in Helena West Helena, where Officer Wallace was struck during an exchange of gunfire with Howard.

According to court evidence presented at trial, Officer Wallace and other local officers were searching for Howard, who was wanted in connection with a separate shooting about a week earlier. Officer Wallace observed Howard in a sport utility vehicle attempting to leave the motel parking lot and used his patrol vehicle to block the SUV. Prosecutors say Howard exited the vehicle and advanced on Officer Wallace while firing a handgun. Officer Wallace returned fire. After the officer was wounded, Howard and the driver fled the scene. Officer Wallace was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died.

The verdict and sentence will have practical consequences for county public safety officials and for a community still coping with the loss of a veteran officer. The case highlighted coordination between local police, state investigators, and federal marshals, underscoring the resources required to resolve violent incidents and to bring suspects to trial. It also prompted public reflection on officer safety procedures, community policing, and the trauma faced by families and colleagues.

Officer Wallace's sister, Terica Wallace, wrote, "Today we finally got justice! The coward the murdered got life with no parole plus 15 years and he waived all appeals. You would be so proud of TJ! He did a phenomenal job with his victim’s impact statement. We all miss you deeply..now you can rest." Officer Wallace's son, Travis Jr., wrote earlier, "im gonna miss you dad. it been almost 2 and the half years. i wish you was here and i never stop thinking about you, I always dreaming about wishing you was here love you dad – Travis Jr (Tj) son." The conviction marks a legal conclusion in the criminal case, while the community continues to reckon with its longer term implications for trust and public safety.