3 Years off the Grid: US Marshals arrest major case NOLA fugitive living in CA beachside community

New Orleans, LA — The U.S. Marshals Service Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans Task Force, working alongside the USMS Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, today arrested in Morro Bay, California, a man wanted for a March 2022 murder in New Orleans.

William Powell, 43, is a suspect in the March 19, 2022, murder of Ciara Bullock in the 3000 block of South Saratoga Street.

After a second-degree murder warrant was issued that day for his arrest, the New Orleans Police Department requested assistance from the New Orleans Task Force in locating and apprehending Powell. Shortly after the homicide occurred, U.S. Marshals Service Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans Task Force investigators, with the help of NOPD’s Violent Offender Warrant Squad, developed information that Powell had fled the New Orleans area and traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, before vanishing. Investigators continued to follow leads and in 2024 the U.S. Marshals upgraded Powell to a major case. In November 2025, task force investigators developed information that Powell was in Morro Bay, California, and members of the New Orleans Task Force requested support from the U.S. Marshals in Bakersfield offices and the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force.

As U.S. Marshals were closing in on Powell’s location, he vanished again.

On Dec. 8, U.S. Marshals from the New Orleans Task Force, alongside the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF), developed information that Powell was at a residence in the 300 Block of Mindoro Street in Morro Bay. With assistance from multiple state and federal agencies, authorities surrounded the residence and ordered Powell to surrender. After a brief standoff, U.S. Marshals entered the residence and arrested him.

Powell will remain in custody in San Luis Obispo County until he can be extradited back to Louisiana to face the charges against him.

USMS task forces are collaborative, multi-agency teams combining federal, state, and local law enforcement to tackle serious crimes like murder, sex offenses, and drug trafficking, making them a crucial force multiplier in community safety.

For more information, please visit www.usmarshals.gov