In the late summer of 2015, what initially appeared to be a single-vehicle accident on the quiet Baxterville Road just outside of Poplarville, Mississippi, soon revealed a much more sinister story. First responders arriving at the scene discovered a vehicle that had veered off the road, the surrounding foliage damaged from the impact. Inside, they found the body of 31-year-old Brandon Penry of Columbia. The doors of the SUV were all open, and it quickly became apparent to investigators that this was no ordinary car crash. Penry had sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head, and the case was immediately treated as a homicide.
The investigation that followed began to unravel the events that led to Penry's death. It was determined that he was not alone in the vehicle. Four other men, all from his hometown of Columbia, were with him that night. Authorities identified these men as Chadrick Devon Daniel, Gerrod Oneal Howard, Kenneth Johnson Jr., and Gary Jamal Daughtry. According to the investigation, the five men were traveling together in the SUV when an altercation broke out, culminating in Penry being shot while the vehicle was still in motion.
Within a short time, the suspects were identified and began to be apprehended. Daniel and Howard turned themselves in to the local sheriff's department. Johnson and Daughtry were located and taken into custody in the neighboring Marion County. Initially, Daniel, Johnson, and Daughtry were charged with tampering with physical evidence and being accessories after the fact to murder. Gerrod Oneal Howard faced the more severe charge of murder, as investigators believed he was the one who fired the weapon that killed Penry.
The legal process for the four men unfolded over the subsequent years. Eventually, both Chadrick Devon Daniel and Kenneth Johnson Jr. were found guilty in connection with the case. Gary Jamal Daughtry, who was initially a suspect, was located and arrested in Pennsylvania in August of 2018. Upon his extradition to Mississippi, the charges against him were upgraded to murder.
