Markel D. Ellis, 31, is held on $150,000 bond after an October 8 pursuit. Signed Arkansas court orders and case summaries listing a matching date of birth document earlier felony cases, and a separate felony case from 2025 remains open.
JONESBORO, Ark. (NLN) — A Jonesboro man arrested after an October 8 police pursuit is charged with felony fleeing and five misdemeanors and is held on a $150,000 cash or surety bond, according to court documents and local reporting. The allegations have not been proven in court, and he is presumed innocent.
The charges
Markel D. Ellis, whose name is also spelled “Markell” in court documents and news coverage, was found by a Craighead County District Court judge to have probable cause for fleeing (a Class D felony), reckless driving, resisting arrest, driving on a suspended license, speeding and failure to use a turn signal, KAIT 8 reported. His bond includes GPS monitoring, and his next court date is 8:30 a.m. Nov. 23 at the Craighead County Courthouse.
What the affidavit alleges
According to the probable cause affidavit as reported by NEA Report and KAIT 8:
- An officer attempted to stop a red passenger car near Caraway Road and Fox Meadow Lane for speeding and failing to signal.
- The car stopped in the roadway, reversed toward the patrol vehicle, then turned back toward Caraway Road.
- When a second officer arrived, the driver allegedly drove around that patrol car, forcing the officer to jump back. A passenger jumped from the moving car.
- Officers pursued the car north on Caraway Road into the Links apartment complex, where the driver allegedly turned off the headlights and sped away before leaving the car and fleeing on foot.
- Officers located him inside an apartment and say he refused commands to leave a bedroom. A police K-9 was deployed and bit him until he was handcuffed. He was treated and taken to the Craighead County Detention Center.
NewsLeash has not independently obtained the affidavit.
Court records under the same name
NewsLeash reviewed Arkansas Judiciary case summaries and two signed sentencing orders filed under “Markel D. Ellis,” “Markell Ellis” and “Markel Ellis.” Both signed orders list the same date of birth, which corresponds to an age of 31, the age reported for the man arrested October 8. Ages at offense listed in the case summaries are consistent with that birthdate. NewsLeash has not obtained a date of birth from the October arrest record itself. Documents are linked below; dates of birth and State ID numbers have been redacted from the signed orders.
The records show seven felony guilty dispositions in five cases:
- 2014, St. Francis County (62CR-14-274): guilty plea at age 18 to Class B felony robbery; five years’ probation.
- 2018, Lee County (39CR-17-51): guilty to aggravated assault, a Class D felony, for a March 2017 offense; three years’ supervised probation. A terroristic threatening count was dismissed.
- December 2019, St. Francis County (62CR-19-156): guilty to second-degree escape and to aggravated assault on a corrections or law enforcement officer, both Class D felonies; six-year suspended imposition of sentence. Fleeing and resisting arrest counts were dropped.
- December 2019, St. Francis County (62CR-18-38): guilty to breaking or entering and to engaging in contact with a criminal gang; six-year suspended impositions of sentence. Numerous other counts, including seven theft counts, were dropped and are not established offenses.
- April 14, 2025, Craighead County (16JCR-25-345): negotiated guilty plea to possession of less than two grams of methamphetamine, a Class D felony; 48-month suspended imposition of sentence. The signed order lists his supervision status at the time of the March 1, 2025 offense as parole (signed order, redacted).
A May 21, 2024 signed sentencing order in 62CR-18-38 imposed a 36-month Arkansas Division of Correction sentence with 30 days’ jail credit on the breaking-or-entering count after a revocation. The order does not state how long he served.
Separately, case summaries show two misdemeanor first-degree assault guilty dispositions entered December 5, 2022. Each proceeding included a $650 fine, a $40 jail fee and a $200 public defender fee (62CR-20-232, 62CR-20-233).
What “suspended imposition of sentence” means: it generally allows a court to defer imposing a sentence while the defendant complies with court-ordered conditions. Violations may result in additional court proceedings and sentencing.
An open case from 2025
An open St. Francis County felony case, 62CR-25-212, filed September 30, 2025, lists charges of possession of firearms by certain persons, possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance and obstructing governmental operations, from a September 9, 2025 offense. No plea or disposition is recorded. Those charges are allegations and have not been proven.
Warrants served the morning after the arrest
Two failure-to-appear warrants in Jonesboro District Court, from traffic cases involving driving on a suspended license and no liability insurance, were served at 4:39 and 4:40 a.m. on October 9. He was arraigned by video that afternoon, with bond set at $3,500 cash or surety on each and trials set for January 11, 2027 (JOS-24-834, JOC-23-5552). The records do not say the warrants were served because of the October 8 arrest, but they were served the next morning.
What we don’t know yet
- The outcome of the pending 2025 case and the October 2026 charges.
- Whether his parole status continued through October 2026.
- Any statement from police, prosecutors or his attorney.
Comment requested
NewsLeash submitted a request for comment to the Jonesboro Police Department on October 12, 2026 and had not received a response by publication.
This story will be updated as records become available.
Sources: probable cause affidavit and first-appearance paperwork as reported by NEA Report; KAIT 8; Arkansas Judiciary court records, linked above. Illustration: NewsLeash, incorporating a booking photograph from the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office; court-document and courthouse imagery is illustrative. Updated October 13, 2026. See our Corrections Policy.
