Murder suspect caught in St. Louis


Thursday, January 5, 2012
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Murder suspect caught in St. Louis

Rico R. Fleming, aka Rico Pool, wanted by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department for one count of murder and five counts of drive-by shooting, was captured Tuesday by law enforcement officers.

Fleming, 22, of Moscow, Tenn., was taken into custody in the St. Louis, Missouri, area by officers with the United States Marshals Service, according to Sheriff Kenny Dickerson. The shooting occurred early Christmas morning 2011 on Highway 72.

Marshall County will seek to have Fleming returned to Mississippi. In the event that Fleming does not waive extradition, Mississippi authorities will move to have him extradited to Mississippi to answer the charges.

Dickerson said the charge of murder is for killing Derica Patterson, a 16-year-old female from Memphis, Tenn., who was riding in the rear seat of a Mercury Grand Marquis.

Fleming was also wanted by authorities in Fayette County, Tenn., and has recently been listed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s list of “15 Most Wanted.”

Sheriff Dickerson would like to thank all officers involved in this investigation and Fleming’s subsequent capture. As this crime occurred on a holiday morning, many officers were unable to realize their Christmas plans as they were busily involved well into the new year in this murder case. Officers worked steadily to resolve the case.

Sheriff Dickerson said he is very proud of the work performed by his investigative division led by Major Kelly McMillen. Sheriff Dickerson is also very grateful to the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force of the United States Marshals Service for their superb work in the case.

“The members of that task force spent numerous hours in and out of our office to assist our investigative team in the capture of Fleming,” he said.

Dickerson said one veteran lawman once remarked and the U.S. Marshals Service has many times restated the motto – “You can run but you cannot hide.”

“This adage proved also true for Rico Fleming,” he said.

Sheriff Dickerson was scheduled to hold a news conference regarding the apprehension at the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday morning.

Another suspect in the drive-by shooting case is out on bond pending court action, according to Dickerson.

He said Christopher Collins, 16, of the Rossville, Tenn., area, was charged as an adult with one count murder and four counts aggravated assault in connection with the Christmas morning crime on Highway 72. The four counts of aggravated assault are in connection with the injury of four people in the Mercury Grand Marquis, Dickerson said. One passenger was not injured.

Collins was brought into custody as a juvenile after Crime Stoppers tips revealed his alleged involvement as the driver of the suspects’ car in the case, according to Dickerson. Rossville, Tenn., law enforcement helped bring the juvenile into custody, where he was later charged after being certified as an adult, Dickerson said. Collins is out of jail on bond.

A third suspect, Cory Albright, 31, of Rossville, is in custody in Marshall County jail on one count murder and on aggravated assault charges, he said.

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