Man Indicted in Murder of Car Seller

Sept. 23, 2020 – An Arkansas man accused of killing a Berclair-area man earlier this year and stealing the car he was selling has been indicted on first-degree murder charges, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A grand jury also indicted defendant Edmond Knowles, 21, of Blytheville on charges of especially aggravated robbery especially aggravated kidnapping and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony.

Investigators said that around 7 p.m. on Feb. 11, 2020, victim Arnold Javier Reyes, 20, was approached at an auto parts store on Summer by Knowles who inquired about the red Mustang Reyes was selling.

Reyes agreed to let Knowles take the car for a test drive, and accompanied him in the passenger seat. A short time later residents in the nearby area of Novarese Avenue and Berclair Road reported a shooting.

Police found Reyes on the ground with tape around his ankles and a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Witnesses said they heard gunfire and saw the suspect drive away in the Mustang.

Knowles was charged and arrested about a week later.

The case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Carrie Bush and Senior Felony Asst. Sarah Poe of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 4 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 12 and in Criminal Court Division 4.