Man wanted for murder in fentanyl overdose case arrested in Tyler

TYLER – Our news partner, KETK, reports that officials have arrested a man wanted for murder after he fled from law enforcement on Thursday.

The U.S. Marshals’ Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force tried to serve a failure-to-appear warrant for a murder charge to 29-year-old Billy Maddox Jr. at the Liberty Arms Apartments in Tyler. However, Maddox allegedly fled the scene, heading north. Officials from multiple agencies, including the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Tyler Police Department, immediately began a search for Maddox. He was then spotted crossing County Road 35 before he was arrested near County Road 14 at around 3:25 p.m., Tyler PD said.

A representative from the sheriff’s office said Maddox was arrested on a homicide warrant in connection to the 2022 death of a 17-year-old who overdosed on fentanyl. Maddox was originally indicted and arrested for manslaughter on May 26, 2023, before bonding out on June 2, 2023.

Preston Hawley, who overdosed on fentanyl on April 23, 2022, used to live with Maddox, according to an arrest warrant, but continued to hang out even after Hawley moved out.

Maddox allegedly misled detectives investigating Hawley’s overdose by telling them the wrong location of Hawley’s overdose, failing to tell them the location of Hawley’s phone and by moving items out of his apartment on the night of Hawley’s death.

Detectives later obtained Maddox’s Snapchat, where they reportedly saw messages where Maddox said, “Yess we getting all my stuff out my apartment kuz lil bro mom think I had some to do with it,” and another message that said, “Then his mom trynna make it seem like I sold him the pills n I don’t sell pills.”

Investigators learned that Hawley’s toxicology report from his autopsy showed he had cocaine, fentanyl, delta-9 THC and Bromazolam in his system at the time of his death.

The sheriff’s office said Maddox will be booked into the Smith County Jail.