Victims in recent killings named
The victims in four homicides, all of them age 17 or younger, that occurred within a six-day span were named in a news conference inside the Pine Bluff Police Department lobby Friday afternoon.
Police Chief Denise Richardson commented on the shootings before the public for the first time since the most recent shooting, a double homicide in the area of 17th Avenue and Hazel Street, on July 16. Mayor Shirley Washington attended the news conference as well, along with other police officers, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Jefferson County prosecutors.
“We are here to let the public know, number one, we hear you,” Richardson said. “We are here to give our condolences to the families who have lost their children.”
Richardson named Patrick Carter Jr., 17, as the victim of a shooting at 2833 S. Orlando St. on July 11. Carter was found lying on the edge of the street and pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Omarius Moore, 17, is held in juvenile detention on suspicion of first-degree murder of Carter. Bail was set at $750,000 for Moore.
Damien Pierson, 16, was found slain in a field near 3600 East Lake Road on July 15 and pronounced dead at the scene.
Morgan Leon, 17, is held without bail in juvenile detention on suspicion of capital murder, and Achillias Glover, 18, was held at the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Detention Center on suspicion of conspiracy to commit capital murder, carrying a prohibited weapon and violating the Machine Gun Act.
Glover was found shot and lying under a carport at 3604 W. Greenway Drive but was hospitalized and has recovered, Richardson said. His bail was set at $150,000.
“This investigation has revealed that this shooting was retaliatory and connected to an altercation earlier in the week,” Richardson said. “Further investigation indicates that there are several suspects in this case and others.”
Two other suspects, ages 17 and 19, are sought, Richardson added. Police said on social media before midnight Friday that Kylon Bead, 17, is wanted on suspicion of capital murder.
Bead is reported to have black hair, brown eyes, slim build and goes by the nickname “TP.” Police
say Bead should be considered armed and dangerous.
Information on the 19-year-old is forthcoming, the chief added.
No one has been arrested yet in the July 16 drive-by shooting that killed Zamarion Moten, 17, and Vaniya Bennett, 14, at 2303 W. 17th Ave. Police say Moten was shot to death in the front yard, and Bennett was found shot inside the home.
Kaden McKay, 18, was found in a bedroom of the residence with a gunshot wound. He was hospitalized and has recovered, Richardson said.
“A short time after this shooting, police located the suspect vehicle at a home on West 37th [Avenue],” Richardson said. “The vehicle has been reported stolen in the state of Texas four times. It was originally red in color but has been spray-painted black. The suspects got out of the vehicle on 37th and left in a gray or pewter-colored Chevrolet Camaro, and the vehicle has not been located at this time.”
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter said formal charges have not yet been filed in the four homicides.
“It’s a sad occasion for Pine Bluff,” Hunter said. “It’s an overwhelming type of situation for our Police Department for the number of homicides that have to be worked.”
Pine Bluff has recorded 14 homicides this year – nine of them claiming persons 18 or younger.
Richardson and Hunter updated the public on two other shooting deaths that have claimed boys 17 or younger since May 7.
Hunter said DeShawn Chapman, 20, and Desmond Richards, 16, were formally charged Friday in the May 7 killing of Tyler Thornton, 16, at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park but did not specify the charges. Will Rodgers, 18, is also held in jail on suspicion of capital murder but has not yet been formally charged.
Jatravous Kendal, 17, was shot to death June 19 in the area of North Hazel Street and Havis Avenue. Khyarriah White, 17; Otis Tyler, 17 and Demonte Harris, 19, have been arrested in connection to the killing, but they have yet to be formally charged. Tyler was 16 at the time of the shooting.
Richardson did not mention the shooting death of Amaree Bohannon, 17, who was slain May 20 at The Spot on West Fifth Avenue. A suspect has not been identified.
The investigations in all the homicides mentioned during the news conference are ongoing, Richardson said, and they are believed to be gang-related. Richardson said earlier in the week via email there is a common motive in the shootings since July 11.
“There are groups that are gathering [that] have different names,” Hunter said. “I call them loosely organized. In the old days, you’d think of a gang like the Crips and the Bloods, where if you had a leader, you’d go talk to somebody. These are more loosely organized.”
Hunter identified some of today’s gangs in Pine Bluff as: MTF or Mouths to Feed; Mo Money; HOG or Hop Out Gang; Murder Gang and EBK.
“The reason that’s important is that you’ll know these retaliations and things that you’re seeing are loosely organized groups,” Hunter said. “They’re associated by neighborhoods and ages. You have people going back and forth between these groups. It’s created violent situations in our community, and they’ve got to be addressed; it’s got to be dealt with to try and dissolve them and stop their influence in our community.”
The incidents also appear to be targeted shootings, not random acts of violence, Hunter added.
Anyone with information on the location of Bead or the shootings is asked to call the Detective Office tip line at (870) 730-2106, the Detective Office at (870) 730-2090 and ask for Det. Corey Wilfong or the Dispatch Center at (870) 541-5300. Richardson said a cash reward is available for tips leading to the arrest of a suspect.
All suspects are expected to be charged as adults.
“I appreciate all the detectives for continuing to try and string these cases together,” Richardson said. “In the face of constant, vicious scrutiny, they stay focused, and I appreciate you all. We have a lot of work left to do. We ask the community to come on board and help us any way you can.”