In the early evening of October 11, 2022, 36-year-old Jeneation Lewis, a male resident of Gulfport, Mississippi, was fatally shot while sitting in his car at a gas pump. The incident occurred at the Country Quick Stop located at the corner of Highway 53 and County Farm Road. When Harrison County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered Lewis deceased in his vehicle, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including two to his head.
The investigation into the shooting
quickly led authorities to a suspect. Inside the victim's car, deputies found his cell phone. An examination of the phone revealed that Lewis had arranged to meet an individual saved in his contacts as 'Jhn' at the gas station. Further investigation by intelligence analysts with the Sheriff's Office linked the phone number to John William Anderson. Eyewitnesses at the scene provided a description of a person they saw near Lewis's car at the time of the shooting, as well as a description of the vehicle the individual used to flee. This information further pointed to Anderson, as his mother owned a vehicle matching the witnesses' description. One of the eyewitnesses later positively identified Anderson from a photographic lineup as the person she saw walking away from Lewis's car after hearing gunshots.
Based on the evidence gathered, the Harrison County SWAT Team arrested 47-year-old John William Anderson at his residence on a felony murder charge. He was held at the Harrison County jail without bond. A search of Anderson's home and property uncovered clothing that matched the description given by witnesses. Authorities also discovered a 9mm handgun hidden in the wheel well of an abandoned truck on the property.
Subsequent forensic analysis confirmed that the shell casing found at the crime scene and the projectiles removed from Lewis's head during his autopsy were fired from the weapon found at Anderson's property. On March 20, 2025, a Harrison County jury convicted John William Anderson of first-degree murder and possession of a weapon after a felony conviction. Circuit Court Judge Steve Simpson sentenced Anderson to the maximum penalty of life in prison for the murder, with an additional ten years to be served consecutively for the weapon charge.
