The second suspect in a November shooting at the Fastway service station at the corner of Cherry and Clay streets is in police custody after a joint effort between the Vicksburg Police Department (VPD) and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) led to his arrest Monday morning.

Vicksburg Chief of Police Penny Jones said 21-year-old Derrius Darden of Vicksburg was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon after allegedly engaging in a shootout with another Vicksburg man, 23-year-old Anthony Dwayne Jackson Jr., just after 11 a.m. Nov. 8 in the gas station parking lot.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said Darden was located Monday morning after WCSO Detective Jeff Merritt received a tip that led a team made up of WCSO deputies and VPD officers led by Deputy Chief Bobby Stewart to a home on Smallwood Drive off U.S. Highway 80, east of Vicksburg.

Pace said, upon arriving at the home, the team witnessed Darden attempt to escape through a back window while holding a handgun, before going back inside and appearing at the front door.

Pace said Darden was taken into custody without incident and a search warrant executed at the residence uncovered a .40 caliber Glock pistol with a device known as a “Glock switch.” Pace said the device “essentially makes a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic machine-gun pistol.”

Also found in the home, Pace said, were several dosage units of MDMA, a drug commonly referred to as Ecstasy.

No one was injured during the original incident at the Fastway gas station in November and Jackson was arrested just days later and charged with aggravated assault before being bound over to the Warren County Grand Jury on a $75,000 bond.

Jones said it is believed the gunfire began following an argument at the service station, resulting in both men opening fire.

The incident is not believed to be related to a shooting in the same location that occurred at nearly the same time of day Tuesday, Dec. 10. That shooting injured one man and led to the arrest of 20-year-old Rashad Williams, also on charges of aggravated assault.

Darden made his initial appearance Monday in Vicksburg Municipal Court, where he received a $250,000 bond.

Pace said he is currently being held in the Warren County Jail awaiting his initial appearance in county court, where he will face charges of possession of an automatic weapon and possession of MDMA.

At the time of the shooting on Clay and Cherry, Darden was out on bond on pending cases that included charges of drive-by shooting, possession of a stolen firearm and shooting into an occupied vehicle, all inside the city of Vicksburg.

Pace said WCSO will request the Warren County District Attorney’s Office to petition the court to withhold bond in Darden’s case.