In the predawn hours of November 9, 2018, in Natchez, Mississippi, the life of 23-year-old Tavonte White was violently cut short. He was driving his car on East Franklin Street with a passenger, 21-year-old Alicia Justice, when the vehicle was ambushed in a drive-by shooting. The car was riddled with bullets from different caliber weapons before it crashed into a brick wall at the Natchez Stewpot.
When police responded to reports of shots fired, they discovered both White and Justice inside the vehicle, deceased from multiple gunshot wounds.
For more than two years, the case remained unsolved, becoming a cold case that weighed on the community and the families of the victims. However, the Natchez Police Department continued their investigation, and in February 2021, a breakthrough occurred. Investigators arrested two individuals, Jameco Davis and Kendarrius Davis, in connection with the double homicide. Shortly after, a third suspect, Jacqlaurence Jackson, was also taken into custody. All three were charged with two counts of murder. A fourth individual, Makaileus Johnson, was also implicated in the shooting but was reportedly shot and killed in a separate incident in December 2018. At the time of the murders, all the suspects were teenagers.
The legal proceedings brought a measure of justice for the families of Tavonte White and Alicia Justice. In June 2022, Jacqlaurence Jackson, then 23, and Jameco Davis, who was 18 at the time of sentencing, were convicted of first-degree murder. They each received two concurrent life sentences, one for each murder, in addition to 10 years for a firearm enhancement. Kendarrius Davis entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder and awaited sentencing. The resolution of the case, years after the tragic event, was a testament to the persistent efforts of law enforcement in bringing those responsible to justice.
