Soldier wanted in NC arrested in Fla. Keys

KEY WEST, FL (AP) — A US Army soldier suspected in the shooting death of a North Carolina man was arrested in the Florida Keys.

Authorities in North Carolina alerted Florida officials on Tuesday that 20-year-old Brandon Joseph Mims might be headed to Key West, where he has family and friends.

A task force of local, state and federal authorities staked out a home on Stock Island after receiving a tip Tuesday that Mims was inside.

Mims left the home about 7:30 p.m. and ran when he saw the officers. He was struck twice by a Taser and arrested.

He is charged with the first-degree murder of 23-year-old Michael Ray Staggs, who was shot to death in his car in a Fayetteville shopping center.

—
Information from: The Key West Citizen, http://www.keysnews.com

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)