In the summer of 2018, the life of TyQuarrius Hardimon, a 16-year-old male, was tragically cut short on the streets of Winona, Mississippi. On the night of July 5th, law enforcement responded to a call reporting a shooting on Silver Street near the intersection of Highway 51. Upon arrival at 10:36 p.m., they discovered Hardimon shot in the street. The Montgomery County Coroner pronounced him dead at the scene. Friends remembered him as a fun, goofy, and sweet young man who went by the nickname 'Pony.'
An autopsy later confirmed that Hardimon died from a gunshot wound to the chest, and his death was ruled a homicide. The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect, another local teenager. Just two days after the fatal shooting, on Saturday afternoon, 16-year-old Markevion Merritt turned himself in to the Winona Police Department. He was subsequently arrested and charged with murder, facing the legal system as an adult.
The legal proceedings moved forward, and in September 2019, a Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted Markevion Merritt, then 17, for first-degree murder in connection with Hardimon's death. He was arraigned in Montgomery County Circuit Court. In a further development, the grand jury also indicted Markevion's brother, Michael Merritt, on a charge of accessory after the fact, alleging that he assisted in concealing evidence related to the shooting.
