A man arrested earlier this year in Lincoln Parish is in custody in Vicksburg after leading authorities on a manhunt that lasted the better part of two days.
Cecil Steele, 43, has been charged with violation of a protective order from Lincoln Parish and felony eluding a law enforcement officer.
Steele was arrested by Lincoln Parish deputies on February 10 after he drove from Mississippi and approached a woman he had allegedly attacked just days before. The Sheriff’s Office arrested Steele for battery of a dating partner that occurred January 31.
Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said a Tuesday, July 16 call to Vicksburg 911 reported a man trespassing on property on Hankinson Road. The caller reported Steele, who was subject to a protective order she held from Lincoln Parish, had shown up at the residence where she was housesitting for an acquaintance.
The victim said Steele broke a window, entered the house, and an argument ensured. Steele left but returned and the victim called 911.
A responding deputy spotted Steele leaving the area in a green Mustang. Steele fled, leading deputies on a chase reaching speeds of more than 90 miles per hour before running off the road and fleeing the area on foot.
The thick woods hampered efforts to apprehend Steele despite searches with drones and K-9 units. Steele was located just before 7:00 p.m. last Wednesday in a vacant deer camp.
Pace said Steele was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Warren County Jail for violation of the protective order and felony eluding. Pace said, “Even though the pursuit was a relatively short distance, it was in a residential area, homes close to the road and speeds over 90 miles per hour.”
Pace added Steele has an outstanding warrant in Bude, Miss. for contractor fraud. Following an initial appearance in Warren County Justice Court, Steele’s bail was set at $5,000.
Lt. Matt Henderson of the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office said after Steele’s February arrest, a protective order was issued by Third District Court to stay away from the victim. Henderson said Steele was scheduled to appear in court in Ruston in June for simple assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, and battery of a dating partner on the same victim from the Vicksburg incident. However, Steele failed to appear in court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
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.
