A suspect has been arrested in the Christmas Day murder of a Ruston man at a local restaurant.
Gerkerrio Demon Womack, 28, of Ruston, was taken into custody by Ruston Police Wednesday morning at a residence on West Barnett Springs Avenue on warrants which included a charge of second degree murder.
Germil Deantonious Rhone, 30, of Ruston suffered a gunshot wound allegedly inflicted by Womack during an altercation inside the Waffle House restaurant on Farmerville Highway at about 3:00 a.m. Christmas morning.
Before officers could reach the restaurant, both Womack and Rhone left the scene. Shortly after calls about the shooting, a rollover crash was reported on E. Georgia Avenue (U.S. 80) near the U.S. Post Office not far from the restaurant.
Rhone was driving the crashed vehicle. He was transported to the Northern Louisiana Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. A passenger was not injured.
Information police received indicated Womack had fled to Texas but had returned to Ruston. He was taken into custody at the Barnett Springs residence without incident.
Womack was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and distribution of Schedule I controlled substances. The drug charge comes from an investigation by the Lincoln Parish Narcotics Enforcement Team.
Womack’s bail was set at $1,150,000.
In social media posts, family members said Rhone leaves behind several young children.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
