On a tragic Saturday in Jackson, Mississippi, the life of 81-year-old Cleveland Bill Bryant Mosley came to a violent end. On December 17, 2016, Mosley, the proprietor of Bill's Coin & Jewelry Exchange, was shot and killed during a robbery at his place of business. He was not the only victim of this senseless act; two other men, 60-year-old Robert Ivy and 77-year-old Ted Lewis McLemore, were also found slain at the scene.
The gruesome discovery was made after police received a call and arrived at the coin shop that evening.
The initial investigation pointed towards a robbery-homicide, as multiple items were missing from the store, and the security system had been deliberately tampered with, with some surveillance equipment apparently stolen. The search for those responsible launched a multi-state manhunt. Law enforcement identified two suspects, Jamison Lynn Townsend and Joshua Garcia, through surveillance footage that captured them and their distinctive red Dodge Charger. The duo had managed to elude a traffic stop in Tennessee before being spotted in Kansas.
Their flight from justice came to an end in Junction City, Kansas, following a police chase that ended when their vehicle wrecked on a dead-end road. Townsend was apprehended at the crash site, while Garcia fled on foot and was later found hiding in another vehicle. A search of their car uncovered a trove of evidence linking them to the Jackson murders, including stolen jewelry, coins, and four firearms. Among the weapons recovered was the. 45 caliber handgun confirmed by the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory to be the weapon used in the triple homicide. Further investigation revealed that Townsend and Garcia were also suspects in other burglaries at jewelry and pawn shops in Gulfport and Pascagoula.
Following their capture, both Townsend and Garcia were extradited back to Mississippi to face charges. They were each charged with three counts of capital murder and one count of armed robbery of a business. In the ensuing legal proceedings, Joshua Michael Garcia pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm that resulted in the murder of the three men during the robbery. He received three life sentences for his role in the killings. Jamison Layne Townsend pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact. She was subsequently sentenced to serve ten years in prison for her involvement in the crime.
