On a spring evening in Indianola, Mississippi, the life of 24-year-old Alberta Garner was tragically cut short when she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting. The incident, which occurred on April 10, 2020, near the intersection of Garrard Avenue and Curtis Street, claimed the life of the young woman, who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Garner, a Black female, and her boyfriend had just finished their workday and traveled to Indianola to make a purchase at a local store. It was during this errand that gunfire erupted, and Garner was fatally wounded. Law enforcement arriving at the scene found her lying in the street.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence quickly led to the identification and arrest of four individuals. Three suspects, Jalexia Flowers, 23, Lemarkcus James, 30, and Yacelyn James, 18, were taken into custody shortly after the shooting. A fourth suspect, 20-year-old Detriss Lanford, was apprehended later by U.S. Marshals in Moorhead. All four were charged with first-degree murder in connection with Garner's death.
Following their arrests, each of the four suspects was held on a $1 million bond. Investigators determined that Garner was an innocent bystander and not the intended target of the shooting. The suspects were believed to have fled the scene in two vehicles, one of which, a black Ford Focus, was later recovered by police in the nearby town of Inverness. While the initial arrests brought a swift response to the tragedy, the full legal resolution for all involved remains partially unclear from available online sources. A Sunflower County Circuit Court docket indicated that Detriss Lanford and Lemarkus James were scheduled for trial on charges of murder and aggravated assault. However, the outcome of these trials, as well as the legal proceedings for Jalexia Flowers and Yacelyn James, are not detailed in the publicly accessible information.
