Man won’t be tried on murder charge after self-defense claim

Published 11:15 pm Saturday, February 6, 2016

A Vicksburg man charged with murder twice in three years was not indicted on the most recent charge Monday during the January term of grand jury arraignments.

Tamares Ledell Dillon, 35, 118 Lightcap Blvd., was charged with second-degree murder in September following the shooting death of Joseph Acuff, 42, outside a mobile home on the 600 block of Standard Hill Road at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12.

The January grand jury certified the charge as a no bill, meaning Dillon would not be indicted or tried on the charge. The grand jury reviewed the evidence and heard testimony from investigators but did not find enough evidence to establish probable cause of murder.

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However, Dillon was indicted by the grand jury on two counts of possession of a weapon after felony conviction. According to court records, Dillon has at least two felony convictions. The two weapons charges come from the shooting and having a shotgun beside him when he was arrested.

Dillon admitted to shooting Acuff but said it was in self-defense.

“The suspect, Tamares Dillon, and an acquaintance of his were at that residence working on a Jeep when the victim, Joseph Acuff and an acquaintance of his pulled up in the driveway,” Pace said days after the shooting.

The men started arguing almost immediately, Pace said.

“At some point, Dillon pulled a handgun and fired one shot, striking Acuff in the neck,” Pace said.

District Attorney Ricky Smith said all the evidence was laid out for the jury, and the DA’s office and the sheriff’s office let the jury decide whether or not to move forward with the charges. He said it was not their place to sway the jury either way. He did have empathy for the family.

“I feel for any family that loses a loved one to violence,” Smith said. “I understand that the family is upset. They lost a loved one.”

At the time of his arrest, Dillon was out on bail awaiting trial in the 2012 death of 28-year-old Mardy Eugene Blackmore at Vangard Apartments on Lake Hill Drive. That trial has been scheduled for April 4. Dillon is still being held in jail, and Smith said the DA’s office would ask for him to continue to be held.