Polk County authorities opened a homicide investigation after 63-year-old Phillip David Thompson, known to friends as Dave, was found dead in Bolivar on June 5, 2023. Investigators determined the death was a murder and that Thompson’s white 2001 Ford F-150 pickup truck was missing from the scene.

Information indicated the suspect fled south in the stolen pickup. Detectives identified 42-year-old Shane Ellzey as the person believed to be driving the vehicle and notified law enforcement in Louisiana. Deputies in St. Bernard Parish stopped the truck on St. Claude Avenue in Arabi during the early hours of June 6 and took Ellzey into custody without further incident; the vehicle was confirmed to belong to Thompson.

Ellzey was booked in St. Bernard Parish and faced a second-degree murder charge in Missouri plus Louisiana charges for possession of stolen property, held without bond pending extradition. Does anyone in Bolivar or Arabi have information about Thompson’s vehicle or movements around June 5 that could help fill gaps in the timeline?