{"id":363609,"date":"2026-07-07T04:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/363609\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T04:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:54:09","slug":"texas-fugitive-arrested-in-natchitoches-with-drugs-and-stolen-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/363609\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas fugitive arrested in Natchitoches with drugs and stolen vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Disclaimer: All persons presumed innocent until proven guilty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">NATCHITOCHES, La. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktalnews.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:KTAL\/KMSS;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;KTAL\/KMSS&quot;}\" class=\"link \">KTAL\/KMSS<\/a>) \u2013 A Lafayette, Louisiana man wanted on drug and theft charges in Texas, was arrested Friday, July 3, 2026 in Natchitoches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Deputies from the <a href=\"https:\/\/npsheriff.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Natchitoches Parish Sheriff\u2019s Office;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Natchitoches Parish Sheriff\u2019s Office&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Natchitoches Parish Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> (NPSO) conducted a traffic stop on Martin Luther King Drive around 3:30 p.m. after spotting a stolen vehicle that had been reported by the Washington Parish Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">NPSO deputies confirmed 41-year-old Rufus Evans was driving the stolen pickup truck. According to Sheriff Stuart Wright, when deputies searched the vehicle they found illegal drugs and an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.ktalnews.com\/news\/crime\/shreveport-grocery-store-theft\/?ipid=promo-link-block1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Shreveport PD seeks ID for two in Ellerbe Road $1,600 grocery theft;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Shreveport PD seeks ID for two in Ellerbe Road $1,600 grocery theft&quot;}\"> Shreveport PD seeks ID for two in Ellerbe Road $1,600 grocery theft <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Deputies arrested Evans and, during the investigation, discovered he was wanted by the Winkler County Sheriff\u2019s Office in Kermit, Texas for Possession of Dangerous Drugs, stemming from an incident in October of 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Evans was booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center on a long list of charges including illegal possession of stolen things, and possession of marijuana and methamphetamine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Evans is expected to be extradited to Texas. Additional charges are also pending through the Washington Parish Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis arrest demonstrates the outstanding cooperation that exists between law enforcement agencies across our state and nation,\u201d said Sheriff Stuart Wright. \u201cEvery arrest like this makes our communities safer, and I commend our deputies for their professionalism, dedication, and commitment to protecting the citizens of Natchitoches Parish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">You can now stream KTAL 6 and KMSS 33 News live 24\/7 on your smart TV\u00a0with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktalnews.com\/ktal-news-live-stream\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:KTAL Now;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;KTAL Now&quot;}\" class=\"link \">KTAL Now<\/a>,\u00a0our brand-new app!\u00a0No antenna, cable, or satellite needed\u2014watch for free, anytime.\u00a0Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktalnews.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com.;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com.&quot;}\" class=\"link \"> For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disclaimer: All persons presumed innocent until proven guilty. NATCHITOCHES, La. (KTAL\/KMSS) \u2013 A Lafayette, Louisiana man wanted on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[39435,1644,38884,51992,128929,128928,2396,128927,27,29,28,128930],"class_list":["post-363609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-kermit","tag-la","tag-martin-luther-king-drive","tag-natchitoches","tag-natchitoches-parish","tag-rufus-evans","tag-stolen-vehicle","tag-stuart-wright","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-winkler-county-sheriffs-office"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}