‘It was unintentional’: Analysis reveals 24 additional homicide victims JPD failed to disclose this year
Capt. Abraham Thompson said new protocols in place to funnel all information through dept.’s public information officer will address problem
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - More than a hundred people have been killed in the Capital City since 2023 began, a number that only recently surged because of previously undisclosed homicides that the Jackson Police Department has now released to WLBT.
Data from JPD shows 22 homicide cases the agency waited months to share with WLBT and — by extension — the public.
In two cases, limited information was provided but the identities of the victims had not been released until months later.
In all, the agency failed to release the identities of twenty-four homicide victims.
3 On Your Side has been tracking killings in Jackson for seven years now, making that information available in an interactive map.
That information comes from individual cases that JPD confirms through news releases or interviews with WLBT reporters.
When a killing isn’t disclosed through those methods, the public never finds out about it.
Those additional homicides change 2023′s year-to-date numbers from 78 to 102, affecting the picture of crime in the Capital City.
Before the department released this information, Jackson had what appeared to be a 25 percent decrease in killings this year over last.
Now, the total number of homicides this year is only down slightly from last year’s 103 at this time.
Below are the previously unreleased cases and the only information provided by the department.
| Date | Victim | Age | Race | Gender | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 30 | Gary Ford | 75 | Black | Male | 5600 Keele Street |
| February 2 | Marrio Terrell Moore | 40 | Black | Male | Monterey Street |
| February 10 | Wallace Moore | 32 | Black | Male | Cedars of Lebanon/Crepe Myrtle |
| February 14 | Quentin Mayes | 57 | Black | Male | 953 W. Porter Street |
| February 18 | Leshada Williams (reported 2/28) | N/A | Black | Female | 1614 Dansby Street |
| March 3 | Kelvin Paige | 39 | Black | Male | 117 Cooper Road |
| March 21 | Krishad Williams | 31 | Black | Male | Highway 80 / Dewey Street |
| April 8 | Rickey Copeland | 46 | White | Male | Highway 80 / North Frontage Road |
| April 22 | Jacob Porter | 22 | White | Male | College Hill Drive |
| April 25 | Dennis McCluer (reported 5/14) | 29 | Black | Male | 115 Bindura Court |
| May 1 | William Ransburgh | 18 | Black | Male | Capitol Street (no direction specified) |
| May 4 | Patrick Scott | 21 | Black | Male | 1824 Camellia Lane |
| May 14 | Moises Garcia | 33 | Hispanic | Male | 2112 Robinson Street |
| May 28 | Jermaine McDonald (reported 6/4) | 14 | Black | Male | 411 McDowell Road (no direction specified) |
| June 1 | Joseph Donachrich (case confirmed, but victim never identified) | 36 | White | Male | 418 Savanna Street |
| June 3 | Timothy Lepard | 3 months | White | Male | 5231 Old Byram Road |
| June 4? | Dante Rashard Reed | N/A | Black | Male | 2336 Utah Street |
| June 17 | Nicholas Munzo | N/A | Hispanic | Male | 1435 Petunia Street |
| June 24 | Corey Bridges (reported 7/18) | N/A | Black | Male | 2123 Belvedere Drive |
| July 1 | Shadeick Carter (reported 7/2) | 50 | Black | Male | 1001 County Line Road (no direction specified) |
| July 12 | Marcus Smith | 33 | Black | Male | 1135 Woodville Drive |
| August 10 | Sentrell Kelly | 34 | Black | Male | Interstate 220 on-ramp to Ellis Avenue |
| August 11 | Daylun Phillips (case confirmed, but victim never identified) | 17 | Black | Male | 1123 Garden Park Drive |
| August 24 | Jermaine Harris | 30 | Black | Male | 435 Conner Drive |
Capt. Abraham Thompson said they’re now changing how information flows through the department to ensure these cases don’t fall through the cracks in the future.
“Certainly, by no means was anything done intentionally. I’m 100 percent certain and positive,” Thompson said. “I think the most important thing for us to do is to identify the problem today and address it properly, make sure we put things in place to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Thompson said they are working to identify where this breakdown in communication came from and will now channel all information through Sam Brown, the department’s public information officer.
“I think we have done an outstanding job with making sure that our PIO has that information to pass it on to the news outlets,” Thompson said. “So certainly, again, accountability is something that we believe in. The loss of any loved one is valuable. Most importantly, solving a crime or bringing justice to the family is paramount.
Thompson said detectives depend on the community to provide pertinent information to them and help them solve these cases.
However, that can only happen when the public is told about the cases in the first place.
This isn’t the first time that the department has withheld information about homicide cases from residents.
Data obtained by 3 On Your Side earlier this year showed 18 killings that had not been reported by JPD in 2022.
WLBT acquired the monthly numbers for last year through a public records request, and found then-Police Chief James Davis misled the Jackson City Council with inaccurate crime statistics.
WLBT asked Thompson about whether he’s frustrated with the delay created by the department’s failure to release these homicide cases to the public for weeks, even months.
“It wasn’t frustrating for me because certainly, we know that a homicide case remains open until it’s solved, until prosecution has taken place. So having that mindset that, hey, the case is not closed, at any point in time, any information is valuable,” Thompson said. “I think putting a timeframe on the information is certainly a disservice. As long as we get the information, that’s what’s focused. Even with these homicides that might not have been mentioned, for whatever reason, putting it out there or getting it out there or even utilizing this today is certainly a plus for us.”
Thompson agreed that the first forty-eight hours are critical when working to solve a homicide investigation but downplayed the timeframe’s importance with respect to JPD’s delay of information in these 24 cases.
Author’s note: An earlier version of this story indicated that the Jackson Police Department had not released any information in those twenty-four cases. Through video archive searches, WLBT found two cases where the department provided limited information, but stopped short of releasing the victim’s identity. The story has been updated to clarify the cases where limited information was provided.
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