On the early morning of February 28, 2017, 35-year-old Jason Thomas was shot and killed in the parking lot of the West Apartments on North 50th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Thomas and his wife had been sitting in their vehicle after 1 a.m. with car trouble when a tenant approached offering to help jump-start the car; the couple declined. After the tenant left, 25-year-old Jeremy Palmer questioned whether the couple had been rude, then walked to the driver’s side, opened the door, and fired a single shot that struck Thomas in the face. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene; his wife was not physically injured.

Palmer fled on foot and was identified by investigators. Hours later a resident at Allied Gardens Estate recognized Palmer from a circulated photo and called police after seeing him knocking on doors. Officers arrested Palmer without incident; no weapon was found on him at arrest, but police later recovered a revolver behind a rock in a nearby basement they believe to be the murder weapon. Palmer was booked on charges including first-degree murder, a terroristic act, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Does anyone in Fort Smith remember seeing activity in the West Apartments or Allied Gardens Estate that night, or have information about Jason Thomas’s case?