Thread: 3 charged in killing near reservoir

3 charged in killing near reservoir
Melee at mobile home park still being investigated

By Andrew Nelson
ajnelson@clarionledger.com
And Mark F. Bonner
mark.bonner@jackson.gannett.com

A dozen or more mobile homes are scattered inside the mud-covered park on the north side of Pelahatchie Bay at Fannin Landing and Mattie Burnett circles, but no one was home Tuesday, a day after one man was fatally wounded and two others seriously injured in a shooting there.

Empty beer cans littered the ground, an unattended trash fire burned and dozens of emaciated dogs roamed.

At mobile home No. 229, a bloody shirt laid crumpled in a ball at the foot of a plywood deck. First responders said it was the shirt of one of the victims. Paramedics had to cut it off to treat his wounds.

Investigators have arrested three people in connection with the shooting.

Rankin County Undersheriff Bryan Bailey said Anthony Perez, 23, of Brandon, Corey Sims, 19, of Braxton and an unidentified juvenile have been charged with capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and burglary.

The trio is being held without bond.

Bailey said the identities of the victims have not been verified.

Authorities were called to the mobile home park near the Ross Barnett Reservoir about 9 p.m. and found two men suffering from head wounds - it was not clear what kind of injuries they were - and another man with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. The victims were rushed to local hospitals.

During the night, one of the men died.

Rankin County Coroner Jimmy Roberts said he couldn't tell where in the body the deceased was shot. An autopsy was expected either Tuesday or today, he said.

Bailey said the cause of the melee is under investigation and would not comment on what transpired.

Reservoir Fire Chief Scott Berry was among the emergency responders Monday night.

"Let me tell you, it was a gruesome scene," he said. "It's always been a real quiet area, so I hope this is the end of the bad stuff, not the beginning."

Authorities initially took in for questioning 14 suspected illegal immigrants, some of whom may have been involved in the violence or witnessed it, Sheriff Ronnie Pennington said. He said the department is working to deport those who are in the country illegally.

Because most of those involved are Hispanic and do not speak English, translators were called in, Pennington said.

At the neighborhood's entrance on Tuesday, Ingrid Schoenborn Mercer said she was tired of the ruckus every week at the park.

"The police are always over there," the 48-year-old German immigrant said. "I don't want to have anything to do with them. I think I am going to start looking for a new place."

Bailey said deputies are not often called to the park to quell disturbances.

Attempts to locate the park's owner on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Berry said he has been to the trailer park twice in recent months fighting fires. But aside from those incidents, he said the area hasn't been a problem.

Last week deputies were dispatched to the mobile homes because of some disagreement. No injuries were reported, Berry said. He didn't know if the incident was related to the shooting.

Staff writers Nicklaus Lovelady and Kathleen Baydala contributed to this report.

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I am sure all of the participants were fine upstanding citizens and it's all just a mistake