Lincoln County murder suspect captured after three-hour manhunt

PIKE CO., Miss. (WLBT) - A three-hour manhunt in Pike County ended with a wanted murder suspect in custody Tuesday night.

Rashan Smith of Brookhaven, 37, evaded a traffic stop in McComb shortly before 6 p.m. and led police on a car chase. Smith crashed, then abandoned his vehicle at U.S. Highway 570 and Robert Ayres Road near Southwest Mississippi Community College. He fled on foot into woods nearby, according to Brookhaven Police Detective Tim Sanders.

Smith had been wanted for a murder that took place early this month in Brookhaven.

He is well known to law enforcement in both Lincoln and Pike Counties.

Smith’s capture was assisted by the suspect’s having dropped a pistol and a shoe during his flight. The shoe was of special interest to the dog teams, police said.

The search Tuesday involved Pike and Lincoln County sheriff’s offices, Brookhaven, McComb, Summit and college police, state highway patrol, and dog teams from Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana and that state’s department of corrections.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department said Pike County Sheriff Chief Deputy Brad Bellipanni “would like to thank all the law enforcement that helped us get a safe ending to this event.”

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