Kyle Craig

Kyle Craig was a 26-year-old White man from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who had a gift for fixing things. His sister, Morgan, said his "hands were made to fix stuff," a talent he had turned into a business buying, repairing, and selling all-terrain vehicles and boats. He had been using online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to find projects since he was a teenager.

On the morning of June 2, 2021, Kyle drove four hours to Holmes County with a large amount of cash. He planned to buy a four-wheeler he had seen advertised online and spoke with the seller around 9:30 a.m. It was the last time his family heard from him. When he stopped answering his phone, his relatives grew deeply concerned. "When I saw that his phone was dead, I just knew," his sister recalled.

Using a tracking app linked to everyone’s phone in the family, they pinpointed his last location and drove there immediately. On the side of Long Branch Road near the town of West, they found Kyle. He had been shot multiple times.

Investigators determined the supposed ATV sale was a violent setup to rob him. Kyle’s trailer was found abandoned on I-55, riddled with bullet holes and his belongings stolen. His Gray Ram 2500 pickup truck, which was initially missing, was recovered soon after on a nearby road.

The investigation quickly led to the arrests of five young men. Montavious Landfair, 20; Parveion Harris, 17; Darius Erving, 17; Akarion Johnson, 15; and Brock Banks Jr., 18, were all charged with capital murder. The four teenagers were charged as adults, and some also faced armed robbery charges. Two of the suspects were turned in by their families. During the investigation, Darius Erving briefly escaped from a hospital while in custody but was returned by his parents the next day.

As of June 2021, all five suspects were in custody awaiting trial.