An arrest warrant has been issued for a man who state police allege killed David Hines in Muddy Creek Township last week.

Police filed a single charge of criminal homicide, a first-degree felony, on Thursday against Paris E. Carter, 22, of Downingtown, Chester County.

On May 17, police were called to a gravel pull-off area near 318 Portersville Road in Muddy Creek Township after a passerby found a person bloody and unresponsive in the front-passenger seat of an SUV stopped in that area.

The person has since been identified as Hines, 38, of New Castle, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to charging documents, there were two other men in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, but as of Monday, neither of them has been charged in connection with the murder.

According to the documents, Carter allegedly pulled the trigger after an argument with Hines.

“Further examination of Hines later determined he sustained a single gunshot wound to the left side of his head,” said the investigating officer in the affidavit. “Two 9 mm shell casings were located in the rear of the vehicle.”

According to a witness who spoke with the Butler Eagle last week, Hines’ body was in the passenger seat with the seat belt still secured, the vehicle was running and wedged into a ditch and music was playing on the sound system.

The witness also said there were bloody paper towels strewn about outside the vehicle and a trail of blood leading from the vehicle.

Police said one of the passengers told them all four men had met at a New Castle bar earlier in the day and left together in the SUV, driven by Hines, for a day trip to Pittsburgh.

Police said Hines had asked one of the passengers to drive for the return trip.

“While (one of the other men) was driving, an argument ensued between Hines and Carter. Carter then shot Hines,” police said.

Police said a short time later, Carter called for the vehicle to be pulled over and took over driving.

“Carter lost control of the vehicle, crashing the vehicle into a culvert on the side of the road,” police said.

Police said the three men left Hines’ body behind in the vehicle, walked through the woods and were picked up by a gold minivan from a nearby campground. Police said the three men were seen on video surveillance entering and leaving the campground.

A preliminary hearing for Carter is pending his arrest, and it is unknown if additional charges may be added.

According to state court records, Carter has multiple pending court cases in Chester County and Philadelphia.

Carter has two cases in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas stemming from a March 31 incident, for which he was arrested the next day.

One of them involved an aggravated assault charge, and the other involved the illegal carrying of a gun, among other related charges in both cases.

Carter was in jail on a combined $25,000 bond, which had been reduced by $20,000 April 8, just before Carter posted and was set free.

Less than a month later, on April 29, charges were filed, and remain inactive against Carter in a Chester County court at the district level.

Stemming from an incident Dec. 16, those charges include a count of carrying a gun without a license and a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.

State police are calling for the public’s assistance in finding Carter, who is a Black man, about 5-foot-10-inches tall, and weighs about 160 pounds.

Police said anyone with information about the case should call the state police barracks in Butler at 724-284-8100.

Anyone who may know the whereabouts of Carter is asked to call 911.