Two people have been arrested and charged with murder following a deadly shooting late Sunday night at a night club in Utica.

The Hinds County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that 34-year-old Joseph Crum and 42-year-old Eric Dixon have been charged with murder and three counts of aggravated assault stemming from the incident in the parking lot of the Sugar Shack Club at 1022 Lee Davis Road.

Five people were shot in the incident, which occurred just before midnight Sunday. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Jason Harris, 41, was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

Jones said Dixon and Harris are brothers, and that all of the victims know each other. The shooting stemmed from an argument involving Harris and at least three other people, Jones said.

“They’re all connected. We believe they know each other. Some of them may be family members,” Jones said at a press conference Monday. “The motive, of course, is an argument or an altercation. What that argument or an altercation stemmed from we’ve not been able to confirm at this time, but we do look to do that during the course of the investigation.”

The other victims were identified as 53-year-old Michael Brown; 29-year-old Deidra Williams; 22-year-old Lorenzo Cooper; and 48-year-old Anthony Brown.

Jones said Michael Brown is in serious condition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Anthony Brown is in stable condition, also at UMMC, after being shot multiple times.

Williams was grazed in the neck and Cooper was shot in the leg. Both were treated and released from a local hospital. Jones said Michael Brown, Williams and Cooper were caught in the crossfire.

All of the victims were transported to hospitals in private vehicles. Utica is about 25 miles south of Vicksburg and 35 miles southwest of Jackson.

Investigators recovered two guns — a revolver and a handgun — and 23 spent shell casings from the scene.

“There is a strong possibility we may recover more weapons that we believe to have been used,” Jones said. “The two weapons that were recovered, we do believe that they are connected but we also believe there are other weapons connected to it as well based on the evidence and information we have been able to confirm.”

Jones said the investigation is continuing, and more arrests are possible.

“There is a strong possibility there could be more charges and/or arrests during the course of the investigation,” Jones said.