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Fort Smith, Arkansas — A Black sex offender and “habitual” criminal from Oklahoma has been charged in the shooting death of two White men while he was gatecrashing a local bar.
The suspect, 45-year-old Nephesh Ruach, evaded law enforcement for nearly 20 hours before finally being taken into custody.
According to Donald Lowe, the owner of Foxefire Bar, Ruach was a former patron who had been previously banned from the establishment. On the night in question, Ruach became involved in an altercation with at least one of the victims.
Lowe told KNWA FOX 24 that before staff could ask Ruach to leave, he had already allegedly shot one man and was moving toward the front of the building, where he reportedly shot another.
Although Lowe was not at the scene during the shooting, he shared details with local media based on accounts provided by his staff and patrons.
“It was already too late because after he did what he did in the back, he came running through the front and did what he did in the front,” Lowe said. The first victim was shot behind the building, and the second was shot shortly afterward in the vicinity of the bar’s street facing side.
Both men were transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead. The victims have been identified as 51-year old Brian Keith Jones and 52-year-old Todd Jewell.
Following Ruach’s arrest for the homicides, authorities also charged him with failing to comply with the Sex and Child Offender Registration Act—a registry violation that appears to have been uncovered during the intake process. The offense was dated April 11, 2025, and carried a mere $10,000 cash-only bond.
In addition to spelling the man’s surname as ‘Rauch,’ the Arkansas sex offender registry lists Ruach under six different aliases. It is unclear if these records were in place before the alleged homicides took place.
Despite allegedly being a resident of Oklahoma, Ruach is not publicly listed in that state’s sex offender registry.
In addition to murder, weapons and assault charges, Ruach is also being held as a “habitual offender.”
Following the release of what appeared to be mugshots of the deceased, The Justice Report reviewed official records related to both victims.
According to Vinelink, Todd Jewell had a prior criminal history though these offenses were committed more than a decade ago. He had been serving a sentence for methamphetamine possession but was released in 2020 under the Emergency Powers Act, a measure implemented as part of nationwide criminal justice reform during the pandemic.
Records indicate that Brian Jones also had a criminal background and may have been avoiding law enforcement at the time of his death. His last documented contact with parole authorities was in November 2023, after which he was classified as having absconded from supervision. Details surrounding the charges linked to his parole remain unclear and have not been publicly addressed.
Despite his legal troubles, Jones was remembered by those close to him as a kindhearted man with a good sense of humor. “He was charming, talkative, and always ready with a joke,” his obituary read. He loved the outdoors — hiking, fishing, swimming, and exploring caves — and was a devoted fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Dallas Cowboys, and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jones is survived by his wife, Shannon, a stepson, and a large extended family. A GoFundMe started to cover burial costs has cleared just $90 of its $2,600 goal at the time of this writing.
The killings occurred in ZIP Code 72901, where, according to the 2020 Census, approximately 63.7% of residents identified as White, 9% as Black, and around 12% reported being multiracial. The area also faces significant economic challenges, with roughly one in four residents living below the poverty line.
Across the city of Fort Smith, White residents comprise approximately 58.4% of the population, while Black residents account for 13.7%. The city also has a significant Hispanic population, with 19.5% of residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino.
Whites are curiously overrepresented as homicide suspects in Fort Smith crime statistics. This is almost never the case in any American municipality. While it is certainly possible that White individuals are indeed murdering at inordinate rates specifically in Fort Smith, Arkansas, The Justice Report almost immediately found evidence to the contrary.
In January, Fort Smith arrested a homicide suspect who is clearly of mixed-race heritage and appeared to have booked him as a “White” suspect, shown below.
Within the data itself, it appears little effort is made to distinguish ‘Hispanic & Latino’ as no data is entered for over 35% of suspects from 2019-2023, leading to major gaps in information. A similar problem exists in their reporting of rape statistics.
Despite these statistical anomalies, Black residents still represent an disproportionate amount of homicide suspects for Fort Smith police. From 2019-2023, Black individuals accounted for 36% of Fort Smith PD’s homicide arrests, over five times their population portion of the city.
Oftentimes in America, Blacks appear to escalate mild altercations into homicides that can claim the lives of White people.
Earlier this month, a rising White football star was stabbed to death during what police say was an “altercation” at a regional track meet in Frisco, Texas. For the crime, officers apprehended and charged a Black football player for an opposing team.
Early reports stated that 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony—a Titans varsity Football player at Centennial High School—stabbed and killed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a track meet after the two allegedly argued over seating arrangements.
Last October, a Black parolee linked to an unsolved homicide was arrested for the shooting death of a White, off-duty corrections officer in Jacksonville, Florida.
Silent security footage from the early hours of October 12 showed an apparent verbal and physical altercation between a Black man and a Black woman at a truck stop.
53-year-old Brad McNew—an off-duty White corrections officer—attempted to intervene. Shortly after, he was shot dead after he had already retreated from the situation.
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