Fugitive on the loose after fleeing SO

A foreign national suspected of being in the country illegally is still on the loose after running from Neshoba County deputies on Saturday and was last seen at a trailer park in Leake County.

The man was apparently avoiding a roadblock on Highway 16 West near the Leake County line, when he ditched his car in a preacher’s yard and took off running into a nearby swamp.

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said Tuesday morning that he was working with the Leake County Sheriff’s Office to locate, identify and arrest the suspect.

“They know he crossed the line and broke the law in a neighboring county,” Clark said.

The suspect is a foreign national in his mid 30s and still on the run from the incident that occurred at about 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.

Clark said the suspect was driving west toward Carthage when he apparently saw a safety checkpoint at the bottom of the hill near the Rev. Curt Pace's house, pulled into his yard, and bolted for the tree line.

Pace, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, went live on Facebook from his home with multiple law enforcement vehicles in his front yard to let everyone know he was OK.

Pace lives at 1060 Highway 16 West and reported in the Facebook video at about 4 p.m. that multiple law enforcement units were at his home, but he was fine.

Clark said deputies lost the suspect “in a real thick spot” behind Pace’s home.

After the man lost the pursuing deputies, Clark said he took off an orange sweatshirt he was wearing.

Clark said investigators now believe a Choctaw Police officer encountered the man but let him go because his clothing did not match the description deputies initially gave.

Clark said the suspect was last spotted in Leake County at a trailer park on Old Highway 35 South. Clark said he was last seen getting into a white van at the trailer park.

Clark said a woman who knew the suspect had dropped him off at the trailer park after he appeared at her home off of Highway 16 near the casinos in Neshoba County.

Clark said the woman was unaware the suspect was running from the law and contacted the Sheriff’s office after she realized they were looking for him.

In addition to the the Leake County Sheriff’s Office, Clark said he has contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.

Clark said they believe the man ran because he feared being deported.

“We believe he was afraid of deportation, and if we can get our hands on him, that is exactly what we are going to do,” Clark said.

Authorities believe he had been deported before.

Clark said law enforcement has at least three identities associated with the man including a Texas driver’s license, a pay stub with a fraudulent social security number and another name they got from his phone.

A search of the suspect’s abandoned vehicle revealed the paperwork along with a cell phone and a misdemeanor amount of marijuana.

Clark said apart from deportation, the suspect currently faces “driving infractions and misdemeanor charges” but said he believes there may be “more for us to be concerned about.”

Clark said the pay stub is from a Burlison, Tenn., firm called Jay-Ton Construction.

The Texas driver’s license has the name James Aquino with a McAllen, Texas, address and has a picture believed to be the suspect.

Clark said the license likely would have been enough to get through the checkpoint.“We likely would have taken the license at face value,” Clark said.