County man dies in early-morning shooting Teenage son of girlfriend is arrested

Published 12:07 pm Thursday, January 6, 2011

A 25-year-old Warren County man was shot and killed at about 4 this morning, and a local teen, the son of the victim’s live-in girlfriend, is being charged with his death, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Timothy Wayne Harmon, 3400 U.S. 80, Lot 4, died immediately from a single gunshot to the chest, said Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey.

Huskey ordered an autopsy, required by law in death investigations, which he said would probably take place Friday.

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

Jeremy Blake Bowlin, 18, of the same address, was arrested at the home, Pace said. A homicide charge is expected to be added to burglary-related charges for which he is scheduled to be tried in March. He was being held in the Warren County Jail without bond and was expected to appear in court for an initial hearing Friday.

Deputies were called to the trailer park just east of Newmans Road when neighbors reported shots fired “at or near” the home, Pace said. They found Harmon’s body in the doorway of the home.

Pace said Harmon was the live-in boyfriend of Jeremy Bowlin’s mother, Christine Bowlin, 37. It was unclear how long Harmon and Christine Bowlin had lived together, he said.

“It appears that some type of argument had occurred between Harmon and Jeremy Bowlin, and just before 4 o’clock this morning Bowlin fired a high-powered hunting rifle and shot Harmon in the chest,” the sheriff said.

The weapon was recovered, Pace said, as well as other weapons, which investigators were cataloging to determine ownership. Pace would not comment on whether Harmon was armed or whether Jeremy Bowlin might have acted in self-defense.

“We cannot go into any details or speculate at this time,” he said.

Jeremy Bowlin is scheduled to go to trial in Warren County Circuit Court March 7 on charges of auto burglary, residential burglary and grand larceny from two 2010 arrests, Pace said. He was indicted by the Warren County grand jury in July for the Feb. 13 and April 24 arrests.

John Michael Harmon, 26, said this morning that his brother was a determined, hardworking man.

Timothy Harmon grew up in the Vicksburg area and had attended Warren Central High School, John Harmon said.

“He was a good man, and had a big heart,” he said. “He just wanted to get along with people and live peacefully.”

John Harmon said his brother worked in construction and air conditioning repair. Timothy Harmon was not married and had no children. He enjoyed working on cars and hunting, John Harmon said.

In addition to his brother, he is survived by his mother, Kim Harmon, and a 16-year-old sister, John Harmon said. His father, John Eric Harmon, died three years ago.

Riles Funeral Home will have charge of funeral arrangements.

Harmon’s is the first homicide of 2011 in Warren County.

Three deaths in Vicksburg in 2010 were ruled homicides, and Warren County grand juries said two of them, which left Derrick Stamps and Dennis Lewis dead, were in self-defense.

In the third case, Jose Arenas was found shot to death below the U.S. 61 South overpass on Interstate 20 after reportedly robbing the La Chiquita grocery at 4002 U.S. 61 South with an accomplice, Jaime Flores, the two brandishing an SKS assault rifle and a handgun and injuring a clerk.

The two drove north on U.S. 61, being chased by the grocery’s owner, until they wrecked near the bridge. The suspects and the store owner then traded gunfire. Arenas’ body was found the next morning. Flores had not been caught at year’s end.