In the early evening of October 18, 2019, the life of 36-year-old Marcus Hutchinson, a Black/African American male, was tragically cut short in Indianola, Mississippi. Officers from the Indianola Police Department were dispatched to Front Avenue Extended after receiving a report of a gunshot victim. Upon their arrival, they discovered Hutchinson suffering from two life-threatening gunshot wounds. Despite the immediate efforts of first responders, Hutchinson succumbed to his injuries.
Witnesses at the scene were quick to identify Leradrick Gardner as the individual who had shot Hutchinson. This information prompted a search for Gardner, who was initially at large. Following his apprehension by detectives from the Indianola Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, Gardner was questioned and ultimately confessed to the shooting. The investigation suggested that the shooting was the culmination of a physical altercation that had escalated.
Gardner's violent actions were not an isolated incident, as he had a prior criminal history that included an aggravated assault in 2017. In June 2022, facing a jury trial, Leradrick Gardner, then 25 years old, chose to plead guilty to second-degree murder for the death of Marcus Hutchinson. On October 3, 2022, a judge sentenced him for the murder, as well as for the previous aggravated assault and other charges related to a business burglary. For the murder of Marcus Hutchinson, Gardner received a 20-year prison sentence.
