Reward offered for help locating Strong

By John Howell
Authorities are stepping up efforts to locate 16-year-old murder suspect Condarius D. Strong, offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction and issuing a warning to anyone who might be helping him avoid arrest.
“Somebody’s providing him with food and shelter,” said deputy U.S. Marshal Clint Roberson, an officer with the Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force and Panola County Sheriff’s Department. “We’re going to prosecute,” Roberson continued, when the investigation into Strong’s flight leads to others who have aided him.
Strong is a suspect in the March 2 shooting death of Roary Ledell Thomas on Bradford Street in Batesville. Nakia Lamar was arrested on the night of Thomas’ death and charged with capital murder.
Batesville Police Chief Jimmy McCloud also said that anyone assisting Strong in his flight would be prosecuted.
Roberson said that a 16-year-old does not have the “street knowledge or resources,” to elude authorities on his on. “We’re working diligently to locate him,” the deputy marshal continued, citing coordinated efforts from county, state and federal officers to assist the Batesville Police Dept.
Anyone with information about Strong can contact the Batesville Police Dept., 662-563-5653, or Crimestoppers, 800-729-2169.