Police arrest man wanted for 2 homicides early Friday morning

Local law enforcement agencies teamed up to arrest a man suspected in two recent homicides.

Springfield police and Greene County Sheriff's deputies arrested Willie Haughton before 2 a.m. on Maple Street, near the intersection of Sunshine Street and West Bypass, according to a post from the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office tweeted that deputies received information from Springfield police that Haughton could be at a home outside of city limits.

"Greene County detectives, SWAT, and patrol immediately converged on the house and within 1 hour had Haughton in custody," the tweet said.

Police identified Haughton, 24, as a suspect in the March 27 killing of Lance Loveless and Sunday's killing of Robert Hewitt.

The bodies of Loveless, 30, and Hewitt, 49, were found inside parked cars and both had suffered gunshot wounds, according to police.

Police say Haughton had met both victims shortly before they were killed.

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Officers were involved in a day-long standoff at a home near the intersection of Kansas Expressway and Kearney Street searching for Haughton.

At times, more than 40 gathered along Kearney to watch the numerous police officers in tactical gear maneuver behind a Bearcat armored vehicle.

Three people and a dog left the house in the early afternoon, but Haughton wasn't one of them.

Police told reporters that Haughton was not in the house around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, and an arrest was made about 2 hours later on the west side of town.

In the early hours of the morning, law enforcement officers surrounded a brown house with orange shutters at 3361 W. Maple St.

Neighbors on the normally quiet street say they woke up to flashing red and blue lights and the sound of officers yelling commands through a megaphone.

Reached by the News-Leader, a representative of the landlord said Haughton was not a resident of the address and declined to answer further questions.

Matt Borland, who lives across the street, said he came home from work to a street full of officers. Several had "assault rifles" pointed at a house near his home, he said.

"I did hear them say, 'Willie Haughton, we know you're in the residence. Come out,'" Borland said. "...We didn't know we had a murderer living across the street, or staying there, whatever it might be."

A few houses down, Darla Juhl thought she was dreaming when she heard someone yell, "Come out with your hands up."

Juhl said she had seen in the news earlier in the day that police were looking for Haughton. She never imagined that the manhunt would come to her street.

"Everybody seems so friendly here. Everyone waves to each other and says 'hi.' It totally caught me off guard," Juhl said.

Connie Tettamble, who has lived in the neighborhood for 32 years, said the early morning disturbance caused her small dog to "have a meltdown."

When she stepped outside to find out what was going on, officers told her to get back in her home and lock the doors.

Tettamble said she immediately suspected that it was related to the long standoff that she had been following in the news hours before.

"Honestly I wasn't afraid, mainly because of the police officers here," Tettamble said. "They did an excellent job."

Police say Loveless, the first victim, was found dead in a car in a backyard in the 1000 block of West Florida Street.

Hewitt, the second victim, was reportedly found dead five days later in a car in the 1000 block of East Commercial Street.

Police announced Tuesday that they believed the homicides were connected and that Haughton was a suspect.

Court records show Haughton had been released from jail on bond four days before the first killing.

The family of Loveless said the 30-year-old father was with his cousin the night of Monday, March 26, when a stranger who was also present asked him for a ride to gas station.

The family said it's unclear if they ever made it to a gas station.

The next day, Loveless was found dead in his car, the family said, and some of his possessions were gone.

On March 28, police say they executed a search warrant at a Springfield apartment connected to Haughton, but Haughton wasn't there.

Four days later, Hewitt was found dead.

Attempts to reach the family of Hewitt were not successful.