On the night of October 16 leading into the early morning of October 17, 2014, Glentez Brown, a 20-year-old African American male from Jackson, Mississippi, was tending to his family's needs. He had spent part of the evening driving his cousin home before continuing to drive his three-month-old son around the neighborhood, attempting to soothe the infant to sleep in his vehicle.
His wife eventually contacted him by phone, urging him to return to their apartment complex because the child remained unsettled and she wanted them home.
Upon his return to the complex, the situation turned violent. Residents, including his wife, were startled by the sound of gunshots ringing out in the early morning hours. When his wife looked out her window, she observed a man dressed in a gray hoodie and dark jeans walking past with a firearm in his hand. She noted that he was fleeing the scene but did not immediately recognize him. When she and other witnesses rushed outside, they discovered Brown’s lifeless body lying on the ground near a stairwell. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds while holding his infant son, who was found amidst the shell casings but had miraculously survived the attack without physical injury.
Detectives with the Jackson Police Department launched a homicide investigation and utilized witness accounts to identify a suspect. The victim's wife was able to identify the man she saw leaving the scene from a photographic lineup. The individual identified was La'Darrian McCray, also known as "D.J." Although there were no direct eyewitnesses to the actual moment of the shooting, the investigation established that McCray was present at the scene with a weapon immediately following the gunfire, leading authorities to arrest him in connection with the crime.
The case proceeded to trial where the prosecution presented circumstantial evidence linking McCray to the murder. The jury found the evidence sufficient to render a guilty verdict. La'Darrian McCray was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of the victim and attempted aggravated assault for endangering the life of the infant held by the victim during the shooting. The court sentenced McCray to life imprisonment for the murder charge and an additional twenty years for the aggravated assault, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. The conviction was later affirmed on appeal.
