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Jacksonville, FL - A four month
search for a Baton Rouge man wanted for murder ended in
Jacksonville, Florida last night. The U.S. Marshals Service from
Jacksonville arrested Christopher Downs, 28, around 9 pm at an
apartment complex at 6355 Morse Avenue. Downs is wanted by the Baton
Rouge Police Department for murder and attempted murder for his role
in a shooting that occurred on July 29, 2007. Baton Rouge detectives
say that Downs shot and killed Charles Okafor, Jr. at 6880 Cezanne
Street. A second man was shot in the arm, but survived his wounds.
The Middle Louisiana Fugitive Task
Force began their search for Downs in early August, but had
exhausted all efforts to find the accused murderer. In late
November, Task Force investigators obtained information that Downs
was staying with a family member in the Jacksonville area.
Jacksonville authorities responded to the area and observed Downs
exit a vehicle at the residence. Downs was taken into custody
without incident and booked into the Duval County Jail where he is
awaiting extradition back to Baton Rouge.
“This case again exemplifies our
commitment putting violent offenders in jail. Once we obtained the
information that Downs was in Florida, we knew arresting him was a
phone call away. Our Jacksonville office worked quickly to locate
and safely arrest Downs.” said U.S. Marshal Carey Jenkins.
The Middle Louisiana Fugitive Task Force, coordinated by the U.S.
Marshals Service, is a multi-agency task force that targets persons
wanted for violent crimes, narcotic offenses, and sex offenders in
the Capitol area and surrounding Parishes. Participating agencies
are the Baton Rouge Police Department, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s
Office, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, and the Louisiana
State Probation and Parole.
For more information about the U.S.
Marshals Service, visit
http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/la-m/index.html.
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