New suspect arrested in crash that killed Arlington police officer in 2023

ARLINGTON, Texas – Nearly ten months after the fatal crash involving Arlington motorcycle police officer Darrin McMichael, there is a new suspect.

Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown issued an arrest warrant for 22-year-old Ryan Luckett in Jackson, Mississippi.

“He will be held there until he has an opportunity to come here,” said Sheriff Marian Brown, “but when he finishes his business with Hinds County, he will come to Dallas County.”

Last September, while on his way to work, McMichael’s motorcycle collided with an SUV in heavy traffic on I-20. He was then struck by another car and the driver fled.

McMichael’s wife, who also works for the Arlington Police Department, was following him on her way to work and witnessed the horrific accident.

In February, officials reportedly used cellphone connections to arrest and charge a 26-year-old man for his involvement in the incident, but prosecutors dropped the charges that same month.

Sheriff Marian Brown explained during a press conference Friday afternoon why there was a change in the case during the ongoing investigation.

“In the interest of justice, we have dropped charges against one offender and prosecuted the second,” said Sheriff Brown.

Instead, investigators linked 22-year-old Ryan Luckett to the case and issued a warrant for his arrest, according to the sheriff’s office. At the time of the warrant, Luckett was in custody at the Hinds County Jail in Jackson, Mississippi, on probation violations.

This new arrest comes as no surprise to law enforcement expert Dr. Alex Del Carmen, especially since Carmen has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and therefore does sophisticated detective work.

Carmen said, “Thank God for technology. I say that because if this had happened 20 years ago, when cell phones were a rarity, people would probably still be talking about hypotheses about who was going to kill the police officer.”

Sheriff Brown is keeping the exact details of what led her to Luckett under wraps, but says Luckett and the man initially charged were no strangers.

“I won’t talk about the specifics of what came out of the investigation,” said Sheriff Marian Brown, “but they knew each other.”

Luckett has since been transferred to the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warrant for his arrest pending his release from the Mississippi Department of Corrections, officials say.