SHERIDAN — Police arrested a Grant County man Thursday in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Sheridan boy.
Rusty L. Draper, 45, faces a first-degree murder charge and is being held in the Sheridan jail, Grant County Sheriff Ray Vance said in a news release.
Austin Moody, 17, was shot and killed in front of his home on Arkansas 35 north of Sheridan on Jan. 19, a week after he turned 17.
Moody was a member of the Sheridan High School football team and competed in track and field for the school. He won a world championship competition in tae kwon do sparring in 2008 and was active in his church youth group.
During a brief news conference Thursday evening at the sheriff's office, Vance announced Draper's arrest but did not offer a motive for the slaying, a deputy said. Vance did not return telephone calls Thursday evening seeking comment.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Liz Chapman said state police investigators assisted Grant County with the arrest, but she said she did not know details regarding why Draper was arrested.
"This is an ongoing investigation and we ask if anyone has any information to contact the Grant County sheriff's department," Vance said.
The sheriff's office may be reached at (870) 942-2101.
State Desk on 01/27/2017