Two Arrested after Reports of Fights, Gunfire

MARSHALL — Multiple reports of a gang fight and gunfire at West End Park on West Rusk Street set the stage for a busy Wednesday night for the Marshall Police Department. According to KETK, reports of a large gang fight were called in to dispatch around 7:00 p.m., but responding officers were unable to locate anything unusual when they arrived. Another large fight, with shots fired, was reported on Paula Street in Bel Air Manor 45 minutes later. Once again the crowd had dispersed before officers arrived. according to police. Officers assigned to the Marshall Criminal Apprehension Team searched the area in an effort to locate the parties involved.

Two more reports of gunfire were fielded by police between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Gunfire in the 700 block of North Bolivar resulted in a residence and vehicle being struck, but no injuries to occupants were reported. Police say witnesses and concerned citizens indicated one of the shooters was an individual named Joe Michael Allen.

At 1:55 a.m., a patrol officer saw a what was considered a suspicious vehicle parked at West Rusk and Adkins Street, one block from Marshall Junior High School. The vehicle had two occupants, identified as Allen and Van Smith, both of Marshall. Both suspects had outstanding warrants and were taken into custody. Officers say they located a stolen pistol, a large quantity of cash, and several vials of a suspected narcotic inside the vehicle. Allen and Smith are convicted felons and were booked into the Harrison County Jail charged with felon in possession of a firearm.