In the final moments of 2021, a New Year's Eve party in Gulfport, Mississippi, descended into chaos and violence, leaving 22-year-old Aubrey Lewis and three other men dead. The gathering, held at a residence on Lewis Avenue, was intended to be a festive celebration to ring in the new year. However, as the night wore on, tensions escalated, culminating in a tragic shootout just before midnight on December 31, 2021. Aubrey Lewis, a resident of Bay St.
Louis, was a male who was fatally wounded during the exchange of gunfire.
The incident began with a physical altercation in the midst of a crowd of over 100 people. Witnesses reported that a fistfight broke out between Aubrey Lewis and another man, Corey Dubose. The fight reportedly spilled onto a car belonging to Sedrick McCord, who then fired a pistol into the air. In the ensuing moments, both Lewis and Dubose drew firearms and shot each other. This initial confrontation quickly spiraled into a larger gun battle, with multiple individuals firing into the crowd. When the shooting subsided, over 100 spent shell casings from handguns and assault rifles littered the scene. In addition to Lewis and Dubose, Sedrick McCord and 52-year-old Nathaniel Harris were also killed. Three other people sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The investigation into the deadly shootout was initially hampered by a lack of cooperation from witnesses. However, Gulfport police eventually made several arrests in connection with the incident. The investigation revealed that the violence was fueled by a combination of alcohol, drugs, and pre-existing tensions between different groups of young people at the party. In the years that followed, a number of individuals faced legal consequences for their roles in the tragic events of that night.
Six individuals were ultimately convicted on various charges related to the shootout. Isavian Preston pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Latavion Bland and Vincent Armstrong both pleaded guilty to mayhem for shooting into the crowd. Bland received a five-year prison sentence, while Armstrong was sentenced to serve five years of a 25-year sentence. Mario Clark, who is Armstrong's brother, pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution for lying to the police to protect his brother and received a suspended sentence. Khalid Williams and Bobby Hands were convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, with Williams sentenced to 12 years in prison and Hands receiving a suspended sentence. Another individual, Breanna Riley, pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution of a felon and was sentenced to probation.
