Fatal shooting outside Mississippi courthouse

A man who was facing drug charges was fatally shot in the chest outside of a Mississippi criminal courthouse Monday morning.

Madison County sheriff Randy Tucker says a suspect has been arrested and is in custody in the Madison County jail. A man fatally shot a defendant waiting in a small courtyard outside the county courthouse.

Brown was in a small courtyard outside the Madison County Courthouse with his lawyer when he was shot, District Attorney Michael Guest said. Sheriff’s deputies witnessed the shooting from a security checkpoint inside the glass-walled, courthouse lobby, and Wells laid down his gun and surrendered as soon as they came out, Madison County Sheriff Randy Tucker said. Prosecutors expected that the victim would reject a plea offer and the judge would set the case for trial, Guest said.

Brown was indicted as a habitual offender, with papers showing he had been convicted on two separate charges of selling cocaine in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2003.

Earlier, Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest said the Saturday shooting involved a relative of the suspect.

“The mother did get shot Saturday night when she was getting ready to go to work,” the police chief said.

Wells was in the county jail with a bail hearing set for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Guest said that Brown had a long drug history and was not cooperating with any law enforcement officials or the district attorney’s office. It’s unknown if Brown is suspected in Sherry’s shooting.

“Regardless of what anybody says about his lifestyle, he was a good man”, said Kayce McPherson, Kendrick Brown’s friend. Law enforcement officials searched with metal detectors under crepe myrtle trees, looking for the shell from the handgun. She was treated and released.

The 25-year-old Brooks said he would stand by Wells, but said he could understand the possibility that Wells might have been angered by his mother’s shooting. “In my opinion this shooting could not have been prevented”, Guest said.

The girlfriend of the man charged in the fatal shooting of a defendant outside a Mississippi courthouse describes the suspect as a “good guy”. It’s a historic antebellum town with about 13,000 people and is known for its Christmas light festival on the town square. The south end of the county is a rapidly growing suburb, while the northern half is poorer and a more traditional part of the South. Canton also is the home of a Nissan assembly plant that employs more than 6,000 people.

Within seconds of the shooting Madison County Deputies had Wells in custody. His trial on those charges was scheduled to begin later this month.