3 charged in Sunday’s shooting with 2nd degree murder, another arrest made

Published 9:54 am Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Authorities have arrested a fourth person in the early Sunday morning shooting that claimed the life of one Vicksburg man and wounded three others, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Andrew King, 23, 280 Curry St., faces charges of second-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault in the shooting. Pace said witnesses identified King as one of the shooters in the melee.

He was arrested by sheriff’s deputies and a Vicksburg police investigator about 1 p.m. Tuesday at a business on U.S. 61 South where he had stopped to visit a relative. He was being held without bail in the Warren County Jail pending an initial appearance in County Court either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

Tuesday, three other suspects charged in the shooting were denied bail. Erick Leamont Smith, 22, 314 Linda St., Don Cornelius Bell, 22, 1315 Fillmore St., and Ricky Lee Perkins, 17, 824 Polk St., appeared in County Court before Judge John Price Tuesday morning for their initial appearance in court in connection with the shooting.

“The investigation by the sheriff’s office is continuing. It’s far from over,” Sheriff Martin Pace said. “We anticipate additional arrests.”

Smith and Perkins were each charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of drive-by shooting and three counts of aggravated assault.

Smith said his attorney was Marshall Sanders. Perkin’s attorney Mike Bonner was present.

Bell was charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of drive-by shooting. He said he didn’t have an attorney and would need one appointed.

Deputy Warren County coroner Kelda Bailess said Jerome Rankin, 22, of Vicksburg, was pronounced dead at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

She said Rankin’s body was taken to the Mississippi State Crime Lab in Jackson for an autopsy.

Pace said two of the wounded people remain in the hospital and one has been released.

“This is just completely unacceptable in any community, but it is certainly something that is not going to be tolerated. Those persons responsible are going to be identified, they’re going to be arrested and brought to justice,” he said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call Central Mississippi Crime Stoppers at 601-355-8477, Pace said.

Callers remain anonymous and do not have to testify in court. Crime stoppers will pay a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of a felony suspect.

The shooting occurred about 2:15 a.m. Sunday during a gathering in the parking lot at the Kangaroo Express at the corner of U.S. 80 and Mississippi 27.

“There was a gathering of people who went to the Kangaroo after several nightclubs in Vicksburg closed,” Pace said. “An argument began and several shots were fired by several people. All of the wounded people were adults age 20 to 27.”

He said when deputies arrived at the scene they found one of the wounded victims still in the convenience store parking lot. He was taken to Merit Health River Region Medical Center by ambulance.

The other victims were taken to River Region by private vehicles. All were later transferred to University of Mississippi Medical Center, Pace said.