Man who rolled truck running from police appears in federal court

Earnest Ralph Lomax, aka Skip, 31, is named in a criminal complaint charging him with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of an unregistered firearm, and with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Lomax was taken into custody last week after he led police on a short, but high speed chase down Arkansas Blvd., when local and federal officers tried to stop him moments after he allegedly sold a grenade and a fully automatic machine gun to an individual working with law enforcement, according to a federal criminal complaint.

After Lomax made the sale to the informant for the explosive and the machine gun March 24, officers from Texarkana, Ark., police, the FBI, and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives swarmed in to arrest him on an existing parole warrant. But Lomax fled in his red Ford pickup, traveling about two miles down Arkansas Blvd. before turning the pickup upside down.

In the truck, officers discovered a cache of weapons that Lomax’s prior felony conviction made it illegal for him to have. Seized were six pistols, one of which had a filed off serial number, and some unidentified pills. Agents test fired the machine gun Lomax allegedly sold along with a grenade for $1,000, and found it to be “fully functioning.”

Lomax appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant for an initial appearance in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wulff said the government wants Lomax to stay in jail while his case is pending. Federal public defender Tiffany Fields said Lomax might want a bond hearing later but will waive the detention issue for now.

A federal indictment formally charging Lomax has not been issued but is expected soon.

Lomax remains an inmate in the Miller County jail.