A 22-year-old parole absconder from Little Rock who had been sought in the shooting of his ex-girlfriend earlier this month has been arrested, authorities said.
Little Rock Police Department Officer Richard Hilgeman said the agency's violent criminal apprehension team got in touch with John Irving Rawls Jr. and convinced him to surrender. He was booked into the Pulaski County jail at 3:15 a.m. and remained there later Tuesday morning with bail not yet set.
Rawls was wanted in connection with the June 7 shooting of his 23-year-old ex-girlfriend. Police said he fired once into a vehicle she was riding in while it was driving on University Avenue, hitting her in the arm.
According to a Little Rock Police Department report, Rawls — who is also the father of his ex-girlfriend's child — found out she had a new boyfriend "and did not want her to see him."
The victim told investigators she was riding with her new boyfriend early that morning when Rawls began following them on Asher Avenue. At one point while stopped at a traffic light, he jumped out, approached the vehicle, reached in and punched the new boyfriend in the back of the head, the report said.
Later, on University Avenue near Mabelvale Pike, Rawls pulled up and fired once into the vehicle, police said. The bullet reportedly went through his ex-girlfriend's arm and grazed her ribcage.
Rawls faces charges of first-degree battery and possession of a defaced firearm.
Online records show Rawls is an absconder from a parole term scheduled to last through 2024 in the Little Rock district. He was convicted last year in Pulaski County Circuit Court on two counts of robbery.