LR’s first homicide of ’17 caused by ‘perfect storm,’ ex-detective says

Looking back, former Little Rock police detective Steve Moore said it’s almost a miracle that a shootout totaling more than 60 projectiles took only one life — that of Mashon Jackson, 20.

Authorities found bullet casings at the scene south of West Roosevelt Road and bullets that struck several homes and pierced a 2014 Lincoln MKZ, said Moore, remembering the Jan. 8 showdown on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive that resulted in the city’s first homicide this year.

On one side of the shootout: members of Michael and Shannon Brown’s family at 3225 MLK Jr. Drive. On the other: Jackson, who was driving the Lincoln, and two men riding in the car.

Prosecutors have charged the passengers — Jerico Mosley, who was 18 at the time, and Tre’sean Freeman, who was 19 at the time — each with a count of manslaughter in connection to Jackson’s death and four counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, court records show.

The Browns — who have said their house was targeted, according to Moore — were cleared of criminal charges, said John Johnson, Pulaski County chief deputy prosecuting attorney. Witnesses have told police that the shooters in the Lincoln fired at a white vehicle, not the Brown’s home, Moore added.

The shootout came during a violent crime trend that began in Little Rock late last year, officials would later say. Violent crime in Arkansas’ capital city is also up so far this year, and city, state and police officials are looking to contain it.

That hectic Jan. 8 night rounded out a set of unusual circumstances, Moore said. The Browns were already on edge from gunfire less than 48 hours earlier.

“I always thought it was like the perfect storm,” said Moore, now a police spokesman.

In the early hours of Jan. 7, upward of 50 bullets pierced the Browns’ home, Moore said. No one was hit.

Resident Shannon Brown said some people from the John Barrow neighborhood had fired the shots, according to a police report. She later told Little Rock homicide investigators that the house was shot at because people were upset with her son, Saiwon Brown, who she said witnessed a homicide in 2014.

Her husband, Michael Brown, told investigators that Saiwon had been receiving received threats on Facebook for some time.

The next night, on Jan. 8, the Browns were lying in wait for another drive-by.

Michael Brown went out for a smoke when shots rang out. Armed with a shotgun, he ran toward the street and spotted people shooting from a car, according to the case

file on Jackson’s death.

The car hit a curb, stopping near West 33rd Street and MLK Jr. Drive, and Michael Brown opened fire as several people fled from the vehicle, firing guns as they ran, the case file states. Saiwon Brown, who sported a bullet-resistant vest, fired at the Lincoln, too, until he ran out of ammunition, the file states.

Saiwon Brown charged into the street, while Shannon Brown — armed with a pistol — also ran toward the street, Michael Brown told police. Shannon Brown told investigators she did not shoot her weapon, which her son took from her.

Trayavon Brown, Saiwon’s brother, told police he fired a rifle after hearing shots and seeing his family returning gunfire.

The Brown family then rushed to the Lincoln to find women inside.

Police arrived moments later. The Brown men took off running but were caught shortly afterward by police.

Reached by phone recently, Michael Brown said he hates that Jackson lost his life in the shootout.

“I was really just protecting my house,” he said.

The night of Jan. 8, Jackson, who drove the 2014 Lincoln MKZ, began following a white car, according to the case file.

Freeman was in the front passenger seat, and Mosley and three women were in the back, police said. The vehicle had been reported stolen to Little Rock police days before.

The homicide file also states that there were six people in the car.

One witness only saw Mosley and Freeman shooting from the Lincoln at the white vehicle, while another saw all three men firing at some point, according to the case file.

One witness told authorities that the white car turned at a corner and the shooters ended up hitting a house, according to a report. Then, people came out of the house and fired back at them, that witness told authorities.

In an interview with investigators, Mosley denied shooting a firearm but said he gave a pistol to his cousin, Jackson, before the shooting started, according to the file. Mosley said Freeman was standing up and firing out of the vehicle’s sunroof, and Jackson fired shots out of the driver’s window, according to the case file.

Freeman also spoke with investigators in an unrecorded interview. In it, he admitted to being in the Lincoln that night with Jackson, Mosley and the three women, police said. According to the file, he said Jackson was following the white car when they drove next to the residence at 3225 MLK Jr. Drive.

Several people rushed out of the house and began shooting, and Jackson and Mosley shot back from the vehicle, Freeman told police.

Freeman denied having a gun or firing but said he got out and ran when the car hit the curb, according to the case file. He asked for an attorney when confronted about having a gun and firing that night, police said.

Police also found a Facebook Live video during their investigation that appeared to be timed at Jan. 8 at around 6:30 p.m., about an hour before the shootout occurred. The video, according to the case file, shows Freeman, Mosley and Jackson armed with pistols riding around in a car. Authorities later identified Jackson as the suspect in the case involving the stolen car.

Both Mosley and Freeman were arrested on Jan. 9 and initially charged with two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, police said.

To this day, police do not know who ultimately shot and killed Jackson, Moore said.

Jackson died from a single bullet to the upper chest, a projectile that appeared to smash through the front windshield of the car he drove, according to the case file.

The projectile was too damaged to link to a firearm — damage likely caused when it hit windshield glass, Moore said.

In total, investigators found 17 spent .45-caliber shell casings; 23 spent .40-caliber shell casings; 12 spent 9 mm shell casings; two shotgun-shell waddings; and a spent 20-gauge shotgun shell. Four spent .40-caliber shell casings were found in the street across from the Browns’ residence.

“It’s a miracle nobody got killed sitting in their house,” Moore said.