NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - North Little Rock police arrested a teenager Tuesday in the death of a Salvation Army major who was gunned down in front of his three young children outside the charity's community center on Christmas Eve.
Authorities said robbery was the motive but released few other details about Laquan Javaris Fitzpatrick, 19, who was arrested on suspicion of capital murder at a home in the east Arkansas city of Helena-West Helena.
Philip Wise, a Salvation Army major, was gunned down as he returned to the North Little Rock center to file paperwork after dropping off two bell ringers on the final day of the Salvation Army's kettle drive. Police said two men dressed in black clothing approached Wise and his three children in the building's parking lot, though only one arrest has been made.
Fitzpatrick has "been a suspect since right after the very beginning," North Little Rock Sgt. Terry Kuykendall said, adding that authorities interviewed Fitzpatrick earlier in the investigation. "It's been a long tedious process and eventually we gathered enough information that we felt we had a strong case."
Kuykendall said he didn't know if Fitzpatrick, who was still being interviewed by police late Tuesday afternoon, had an attorney.
Wise had worked for three years in Baring Cross, a low-income neighborhood troubled by gangs and drugs. He ran youth programs, a food pantry and church services.
Wise's widow, Cindy, said she was "quite excited" police arrested a suspect but she didn't know many details.
"I have no earthly idea how it came about," she said. "I'm still kind of in the dark myself."
She said her husband was "a very humble man" and a loving husband, father and pastor.
"He did everything that he could to make this a better place for everyone," she said.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
