In the final moments of 2021, a New Year's Eve party on Lewis Avenue in Gulfport, Mississippi, turned into a scene of chaos and violence that would leave four men dead, including 28-year-old Sedrick McCord. The gathering, attended by a large crowd, was shattered by gunfire shortly before midnight on December 31, 2021, following an escalation of tensions between two groups of young people from different neighborhoods.
The violence erupted from a fistfight between Aubrey Lewis and Corey
Dubose. As they fought in the middle of the street, they reportedly fell onto Sedrick McCord's car. Witnesses stated that McCord then got out of his vehicle and fired a single shot into the air. In response, Lewis and Dubose drew their own firearms and fatally shot each other. In the ensuing gunfire, Isavian Preston shot and killed McCord. The scene descended further into chaos as several other individuals began shooting into the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight. When police arrived, they discovered a street littered with over one hundred spent shell casings and found that Nathaniel Harris, 52, had also been killed in the crossfire.
The investigation into the deadly shootout led to the indictment of several individuals on charges including second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Among them was Isavian O'Terry Rashun Preston, then 25, who was identified by witnesses as the person who shot Sedrick McCord. In December 2023, Preston pleaded guilty to an amended charge of manslaughter for McCord's death, as well as unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He was sentenced to the maximum of 30 years in prison, a term to be served consecutively with a prior eight-year sentence for a drug possession charge.
In addition to Preston, a number of other individuals faced legal consequences for their roles in the tragic events of that night. Latavion Bland, Vincent Armstrong, Mario Clark, Khalid Williams, Bobby Hands, and Breanna Riley were also indicted. By August 2024, Bland, Armstrong, and Clark had also pleaded guilty to various charges related to the shootout, bringing the total number of defendants convicted in connection with the incident to six. As part of his plea agreement, Preston was required to provide truthful testimony regarding the remaining co-defendants.
