One Vicksburg homicide suspect out on bond|[02/12/08]
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Two suspects in separate Vicksburg homicides had their initial court appearances Monday, while two other shootings were reported in nearby towns during the last two days, one of them fatal.
In Vicksburg Municipal Court, Keiwana Hoza Jones, 25, 1312 China St., who faces murder charges for allegedly shaking to death a 4 1/2 month-old child, was denied bond by Municipal Judge Lewis Burke, citing Jones’ status as on probation from a burglary conviction last month.
About an hour later in the courtroom, James Denver Ainsworth, 24, 279 Opperman Road, accused of shooting and killing his brother-in-law after a family argument at a bar, was assigned a $100,000 bond. Ains-worth, who had no previous arrests, posted his bond later that night and was released from jail, Vicksburg Police Lt. Bobby Stewart said.
Jones was arrested and charged Friday night following an investigation and the autopsy of infant Matthew Parker, police said. The baby had been pronounced dead at 11:27 p.m. Wednesday at River Region Medical Center. About an hour earlier, emergency units were called to 1312 China St., Apt. A, where the boy lived with his mother, Felicia Parker, 26, and Jones. Emergency workers found the child not breathing and unresponsive.
Stewart said Jones went voluntarily to the police station Friday, where he was arrested at 6:41 p.m.
If a grand jury decides the homicide was committed in the act of another felony, for example child abuse, Jones could be indicted on a capital murder charge. If convicted on that charge, Jones could face life without parole or the death penalty. The next Warren County Grand Jury convenes in May.
The infant was the son of 29-year-old Matthew Nash, who was indicted two weeks ago by the Warren County Grand Jury. Facing charges of murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, two counts of aggravated assault and felony possession of a weapon, Nash is one of five co-defendants in the death of Justin Maurice Harris on June 17.
The same night Jones was arrested, Donald Wayne Vinson, 39, 350 Vinson Road, died from a single gunshot wound to the face in a shooting reported at about 11:30 at the Town & Country Lounge, 3350 N. Washington.
At the bar along with Vinson were his wife, Cynthia Vinson; her brother, James Ainsworth and his wife, Theresa Ainsworth; and Tammy Ains-worth, the mother of Cynthia Vinson and James Ainsworth.
Police believe the Vinsons began an argument that turned into a scuffle and Tammy and Theresa Ainsworth stepped in. When James Ainsworth, joined in, police said, he brought in a .40-caliber handgun that was used to kill Donald Wayne Vinson.
Monday, Larry Hunter, 48, who lived at 207 Williamson Ave. in Edwards was found dead with gunshot wounds to the back, leaving his family and Hinds County authorities looking for answers.
Capt. Steve Pickett, a spokesman for the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, said that at 9 a.m., sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Mosley Drive near Mount Moriah Road, just blocks outside the Edwards city limits, where they found the body. Hunter’s wallet and an undisclosed amount of cash had been stolen.
Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart pronounced Hunter dead at the scene.
According to Pickett, Hunter was believed to be in the area checking on his horses. Pickett did not say who made the discovery of the body or who made the 911 call. The shooting was believed to have occurred between 5 and 7:30 a.m.
Teresa Hunter, who said she was a sister of the slain man, described Hunter as a “good person.” She noted that he was a father of three and an employee at Cal-Maine Farms in Edwards.
“We have absolutely no idea who would do something like this or why they would do it,” she said. “There’s just no sense in it. I don’t know who would want to do this to such a good man.”
In a news release, Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin asked anyone with information to call investigators at 601-974-2914.
The fourth gunfire incident was Sunday at a home in Pattison in Claiborne County and left a 7-year-old boy in the Intensive Care Unit at University Medical Center. Two men were in jail facing aggravated assault charges, said Claiborne County Deputy Chief Freddie Yarbrough.
Arrested were Byron January, 26, 177 Pattison-Tillman Road, and Michael McComb, 25, 1063 Pattison-Tillman Road. Bonds had not been set, Yarbrough said.
According to reports, the two men were at a home on Pattison-Tillman fighting about a car battery and began exchanging gunfire. The child was playing in the yard when he was accidentally hit.
Both suspects were arrested Sunday at separate locations.