JONESBORO -- Authorities have arrested a man in connection with two Dec. 28 homicides, Jonesboro Police Department spokesman Paul Holmes said Friday.
Preston Ricardo Burt, 30, of Jonesboro was charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the Craighead County jail in Jonesboro in lieu of a $1 million bond.
Burt was arrested by Jonesboro Police Department officers who were checking on sex offenders' registrations, Holmes said. They were canvassing neighborhoods to match addresses with those given by registered offenders and found Burt a few hours after detectives issued a warrant for his arrest.
Burt was not a sex offender, Holmes said.
Burt is charged with the fatal shootings of Kenny Coleman, 57, and Charles Jones, 52. Police said relatives found the two inside a North Miller Street home in north Jonesboro the night of Dec. 28.
Jonesboro police Detective Bill Brown wrote in a probable cause arrest affidavit filed Thursday in Craighead County District Court that a witness gave "specific details about the homicide that only someone that was at the scene would know."
The witness said he saw Burt shoot Coleman.
Burt will be formally charged March 31 in Craighead County Circuit Court.
Jonesboro police reported four homicides in 2016.
State Desk on 02/04/2017