William Powell, 43 of New Orleans, shown here in a 20-year-old mugshot, who was wanted in connection to the March 2022 murder of a 38-year-old New Orleans woman, was apprehended by the U.S. Marshalls Service on Dec. 8, hiding out in a Morro Bay home. Photo courtesy New Orleans PD
Morro Bay Police assisted the U.S. Marshall’s Service in catching a suspected murderer from Louisiana, who was hiding out in a Morro Bay home.
A Dec. 8 news release from the Marshalls Service said, “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.”
MBPD Cmdr. Tony Mosqueda said in the department’s news release, “On Dec. 8, 2025, at about 12:20 p.m., Morro Bay Police Officers assisted the U.S. Marshals Service with the apprehension of a wanted fugitive in the 300 block Mindoro St. The fugitive was taken into custody safely and peacefully.”
The fugitive from New Orleans has been on the run for quite a while. Identified by the Marshalls as William Powell, 43, “is a suspect in the March 19, 2022, murder of Ciara Bullock,” the USMS said. “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.” Powell had fled the state.
“Shortly after the homicide occurred,” the news release added, “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, Miss., before vanishing.”
Investigators never gave up their search for Powell and in 2024 they upgraded his status to a “major case.” Their next clue came in November.
“In November 2025,” USMS said, “task force investigators developed information that Powell was in Morro Bay, Calif., 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.”
But just as they were closing in on Powell, he vanished once again.
On Dec. 8, they got a new lead that Powell was back in Morro Bay, narrowing it down to the exact location. “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.”
The Marshalls Service said Powell would remain in the SLO County Jail until they arrange for his extradition to Louisiana to face charges.
According to a wanted bulletin from the New Orleans Police Department, Powell was wanted in connection with the shooting death of 38-year-old Ciarra Bullock on March 19, 2022. “Through investigation, Homicide detectives have identified William Powell as being the perpetrator of the murder,” reads the bulletin posted on the NOPD website.
The case is an example of what can be accomplished when law enforcement agencies work together.
“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.”
