Nearly four years after a Central City killing shook a New Orleans neighborhood, William Powell III is back in an Orleans Parish courtroom, this time held on a $2 million bond as prosecutors push a second-degree murder case. Powell, 43, was extradited from California this week in connection with the March 19, 2022 shooting death of 35-year-old Ciara Bullock, the result of a multi-state manhunt that authorities say stretched across tips, task forces and months of behind-the-scenes coordination.
How the Marshals Say They Found Him
Federal officials say the trail ended on the California coast. On Dec. 8, 2025, investigators tracked Powell to a home in Morro Bay, then moved in with help from regional fugitive teams and local police. After what authorities describe as a brief standoff, U.S. Marshals went into the residence and arrested him, holding Powell in San Luis Obispo County while they arranged to send him back to Louisiana, according to a news release from the U.S. Marshals Service…