On what should have been a joyous occasion, Nicholaus Craig, a 36-year-old man, was fatally shot on September 21, 2022, his birthday. He was discovered in the driver's seat of his vehicle in the parking lot of the Scarlet Pearl Casino in D'Iberville, Mississippi. Craig, who was originally from Mobile, Alabama but had been living in California, was in town to celebrate with family.
The cause of death was a single gunshot wound.
The investigation that followed a grim trail led law enforcement from Mississippi to Alabama. Craig's rental car, a Nissan Altima, was found engulfed in flames behind an apartment complex in Prichard, Alabama, the day after the shooting. Surveillance footage from the casino and a nearby gas station played a crucial role in identifying the individuals believed to be responsible for what police described as a 'random and apparent robbery attempt.'
Authorities issued warrants for the arrest of two Alabama teenagers, 19-year-old Darius Dewayne Rowser Jr. and 18-year-old Karmelo Cortez Morris Derks, who were subsequently charged with first-degree murder. The investigation expanded, and eventually, a federal indictment named six individuals in connection with a violent crime spree that included the murder of Nicholaus Craig.
The federal indictment charged Reginald Dennis Alan Fluker, John Fitzgerald McCarroll, Darrius Dwayne Rowser, Karmelo Cortez Morris Derks, Jimaurice Pierce, and Lyteria Isheeia Hollis with a host of crimes. These charges included conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, carjacking, and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. McCarroll and Fluker faced an additional murder-for-hire charge in a separate incident, while others faced charges of obstruction, witness tampering, and illegal firearm possession.
