5 indicted in drive-by shooting

Published 6:56 pm Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Five people, including two sets of brothers, have been indicted by the Warren County grand jury in the Feb. 28 drive-by shooting of a 16-year-old on Bowmar Avenue.

Brothers Lamarien Harper, 16, and Deldrick Cliffvonte Harper, 19, both of 106 Ash St.; and Deanthony Rashad Smith, 20, and Jacques Deshawn Smith, 18, of 121 Impala Drive; and Darion Deshun Turner, 16, 1314 South Street; are accused in the five-count indictment accusing them of involvement in the shooting of 16-year-old JaMario Hawkins at the corner of Bowmar Avenue and Drummond Street. The teens are being tried as adults.

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Hawkins was wounded in the leg and later recovered. Another teen walking with him was not wounded.

Lamarien Harper, Deanthonty Rashad Smith, Jacques Deshawn Smith and Darion Deshun Turner were each indicted on two counts of aggravated assault-extreme indifference, and one count of drive-by shooting. The four are accused of being in the car when Hawkins was shot.

Deldrick Harper is charged in the indictment with possession of a stolen firearm and as an accessory after the fact. He is accused of attempting to get rid of the .40-caliber Glock handgun believed to have been used in the shooting.

The gun had previously been reported stolen to Vicksburg police.

The Harper brothers are both being held without bond in the Warren County Jail. The Smiths and Turner have been released after posting their bonds.

Lamarien Harper is accused of being the shooter in the drive-by shooting.

At the time of the shooting, he was out on a $25,000 bond on an aggravated assault that occurred Feb. 11, when he allegedly shot another 16-year-old during a fight that resulted from an argument between Harper and the victim’s mother over items she claimed Harper stole from her house.

Municipal Judge Toni Terrett revoked the bond from the first shooting on a motion from Warren County District Attorney Ricky Smith and ordered him held without bond.

The current grand jury has also indicted him on a charge of aggravated assault-extreme indifference in the Feb. 11 shooting.

In another case, the grand jury indicted brothers Lee Edward Yates, 48, and Lee Sherman Yates, 50, both of 712 Speed St., on a charge of aggravated assault in the March 16, 2016, stabbing of Charles Scott, 37, in the 2300 block of Washington Street near Speed Street. Scott was taken to River Region Medical Center and later transferred to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he has recovered from his wound. The brothers were later released on $50,000 bond each.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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