NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — After a three-year search, the suspect in a 2022 New Orleans murder investigation has been located and arrested.
According to officials with the United States Marshals Office, now 43-year-old William Powell was wanted in connection with the murder of Ciara Bullock in the 3000 block of South Saratoga Street on March 19, 2022.
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Bullock was shot and killed, allegedly by Powell, following an argument between the two. Powell was identified as a suspect in May 2022 and an arrest warrant for second-degree murder was issued.
In the days after the crime, U.S. Marshals learned that Powell reportedly fled the state headed toward Jackson, Mississippi. With the help of New Orleans Task Force investigators and NOPD’s Violent Offender Warrant Squad, the search began.
In 2024, Powell’s case was upgraded to a major case, and in November 2025, law enforcement agents were alerted of his possible location in Morro Bay, California but he reportedly vanished again.
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With assistance from the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, on Dec. 8 investigators received a tip that Powell was at a home in Morro Bay. Multiple state and federal agencies located and surrounded the home and called for Powell to surrender…