The fatal stabbing of a Vicksburg teen marked — and marred — the city’s passage into the new year.

A suspect has been arrested and charged in the case.

Terry Tamal Robinson, who was 16, died just before midnight Thursday from a stab wound to the abdomen, said Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey.

“He was a lovable, happy boy, and he was a polite child,” said Terry’s mother, Lisa King. “He always had a smile on his face and was well liked by everyone.”

Terry died at 11:57 p.m. around the corner from his home at 240 Tully St. in Waltersville Estates, where he lived with his mother and 14-year-old sister, La Keviaon Neal.

Minutes later, police arrested Deaunte Earl Lewis, 23, 713 Johnson St., and charged him with murder. He was in the Warren County Jail without bond Friday night pending his initial hearing, set for noon today.

Terry was in the ninth grade at Warren Central High School, where he was looking forward to taking driver’s ed in the coming term, his mother said. He loved listening to music and taking pictures.

“He wanted to be a DJ when he grew up,” she said.

Terry also had a tank full of fish and a puppy named Princess. He was great with computers, his mother said. “There was nothing he couldn’t do with a computer. I’m going to miss that boy so much.”

He was a member of Greater Jerusalem Baptist Church and was one of only a few young people on the church’s usher board, his mother said.

Terry had been at the home of a neighbor at 180 Walters St. on New Year’s Eve, where he got into physical fight with Lewis, said police Sgt. Sandra Williams. “Things escalated and eventually the young man was stabbed to death as a result.”

Police said Lewis has a relationship with the woman who lives at 180 Walters St., and the two have at least one child together.

Terry’s mother said the two had fought inside the residence, and when her son ran outside by the back door, Lewis exited by the front door and continued the fight outside.

After he was stabbed, Terry climbed into a nearby car, his mother said, where she found him shortly afterward, unresponsive.

“He had no pulse,” she said. “He was gone.”

Huskey pronounced the teen dead at 1:15 a.m. at the scene, but confirmed the time of death as 11:57 p.m. He said heavy rain and numerous bystanders who had gathered to observe created “a lot of chaos.” An autopsy was performed Friday at the state crime lab, with results expected as early as today.

Williams said police talked to several witnesses and arrested Lewis shortly after the stabbing. Investigators remained on the scene for several hours.

A weapon had not been recovered by late Friday afternoon, Williams said, but investigators were continuing the search. Lewis had remained “in the area,” she said, before his arrest.

Coming in the closing minutes of 2009, Terry’s death was the city’s third homicide of the year. Antonio Turner, who was 25, was shot March 15 in his car on Alcorn Drive. Danny Miller, also 25, was killed April 12 on Baldwin Ferry Road. Arrests have been made in both cases.

In addition to his mother and sister, Terry leaves a number of Vicksburg relatives including his father, Terry Lee Robinson; his stepfather, Kevin Neal; an older brother, Maurice Jammal King; and maternal grandfather, Joseph King.

Williams Funeral Service has charge of arrangements.