In the spring of 2017, a burst of gunfire on a street in Jackson, Mississippi, tragically cut short the life of 26-year-old Alexia Krushet Buckhalter. On the afternoon of March 14th, Buckhalter was inside a home on Paden Street when a vehicle drove by and unleashed a spray of bullets into the residence. One of the rounds struck Buckhalter in the torso, inflicting a fatal wound. When emergency services arrived, they found her in a front bedroom of the house, but it was too late to save her.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence quickly revealed a dispute that had occurred earlier that day. Authorities identified three individuals as suspects in the drive-by shooting: 32-year-old Calvin Welch Jr., 21-year-old Keeunna Welch, and 27-year-old Evelyn Powell. According to law enforcement, the incident was preceded by an altercation at the Paden Street home involving Powell. She reportedly left the scene only to return later with the Welch cousins. It was then that shots were fired from their vehicle into the house. Investigators believe that Alexia Buckhalter was not the intended target of the violent outburst.
In the days following the shooting, law enforcement officials began to close in on the suspects. Keeunna Welch was the first to be taken into custody after turning herself in to the Jackson Police Department. Evelyn Powell was also apprehended. The final suspect, Calvin Welch Jr., was located and arrested by the U.S. Marshals Task Force. All three were charged with murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling. Bail for Calvin Welch Jr. was set at $1.25 million, reflecting the serious nature of the charges against him. Despite extensive reporting on the initial arrests and charges, detailed information regarding the subsequent trials, verdicts, and sentences for Calvin Welch Jr., Keeunna Welch, and Evelyn Powell is not readily available in public online records.
