Judge sets $1 million bond for murder suspect

Published 11:14 am Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Eric Clayton, a suspect in the Sept. 21 shooting death of Dematric Lamar Clark, made his initial court appearance Wednesday in municipal court.

After a short hearing, Judge Angela Carpenter set Clayton’s bond at $1 million.

Clayton, 28, 1414 Martin Luther King Drive, was arrested about noon Monday Vickburg Police officers and deputies with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at a home on Redhawk Road.

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Clayton faces a charge of second-degree murder in the case, Capt. Mike Bryant, police department public information officer, said.

Clayton is accused with two other men, Demarcus James Qualls, 163 Kidd Lane, and Elijah Eugene Qualls Jr., 20, 60 Smallwood Drive, in the death of Dematric Lamar Clark, 36, who was shot about 12:51 a.m. on Sept. 21.

Demarcus James Qualls and Elijah Eugene Qualls Jr. were arrested by police and are being held in the Warren County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond each, charged with second-degree murder in the death.

The men are also each charged with possession of a weapon after felony conviction.

Elijah Qualls Jr. also faces a charge of aggravated assault in the June 22 shooting of a man on Mississippi 27 south of Beechwood Elementary School that occurred in Warren County.

Police believe Demarcus and Elijah Qualls and Clayton were shooting at an unknown person on Fayette Street, and Clark was an innocent bystander.

Officers responding to a report of shots fired in the 1100 block of Fayette Street with one person shot arrived to find Clark lying in the street in the 1200 block of Fayette with a gunshot wound to the head.

Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey pronounced him dead at the scene.

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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