Courtesy photo
A car, with the murder victim inside, was found abandoned at the end of White Road in a rural area of Marshall County.
Suspects sought in murder
A week-long investigation into the shooting of a teenager has yielded no suspects, according to Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson.
He said Melvin Brown Jr., 18, from the Mt. Pleasant area, disappeared along with a white 2004 BMW Tuesday, Oct. 25, from a residence inside the city limits of Holly Springs. The victim and the vehicle were found mid-afternoon Wednesday, Oct. 26, in a remote, weeded area of the county near an abandoned house.
The owner of the BMW was inside a residence visiting on Jones Beene Drive in Holly Springs when he reported hearing a noise like a gunshot. When the owner went outside on the porch, he saw a black male (not the victim) driving off in his BMW, Dickerson said.
It took place around 11 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, and the resident on Jones Beene Drive called 911 to report the missing car, he said.
When the car owner arrived at the residence, the victim was in his car on the passenger side, according to the sheriff. The victim had been riding with the car owner and was in the company of the car owner at the time Brown was last seen alive.
Dickerson said investigators believe the car was driven east on Highway 178 following the alleged theft.
The City of Holly Springs Police Department, working closely with the sheriff’s office, began an effort to locate the car and the victim who was reported missing.
The DeSoto County helicopter began a thorough aerial search of the city, then expanded its search to the county on October 26. The car was found mid-afternoon Wednesday, Oct. 26, by helicopter and sheriff Dickerson and investigators went to the area where the BMW was located at the end of White Road near Hubbard and Higdon roads.
Forensic experts with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety began a search of the vehicle, which the sheriff’s department had cordoned off with tape to secure the scene.
Brown’s body was found reclining in a bucket seat on the passenger side of the vehicle, Dickerson said. His shoes were missing and he had been shot in the left eyebrow and head area. Brown was otherwise fully clothed and no other gross injuries were found by autopsy, he said.
The victim was later identified by family members from a description of his body. No identification was found on Brown’s body at the time he was removed from the BMW by coroner James Richard Anderson.
After a thorough forensic search of the scene of the abandoned BMW, the vehicle was brought to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department for a thorough crime lab investigation of the inside and outside of the vehicle.
Dickerson said the investigation points to the possible shooting of Brown inside the city limits of Holly Springs and that the vehicle and body were taken to the White Road location afterward.
Anyone who has information that could lead to the identification of one or more suspects in this shooting is asked to call the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department at 662-252-1311 or the Holly Springs Police Department at 662-252-2122 and ask to speak with investigators.
Callers may remain anonymous when leaving tips with authorities about this or any other case, Dickerson said.