HOLLY SPRINGS — One suspect has been arrested in a Christmas Day drive-by shooting that left a 16-year-old Memphis girl dead.
Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson said Wednesday that Corey Albright, 31, of Rossville, Tenn., was arrested Tuesday night. He did not release any details of the arrest.
Dickerson said the search continues for Rico R. Fleming, 22, also of Rossville, Tenn.
Albright and Fleming are each charged with murder in the death of Derica Patterson and five counts of drive-by shooting in the wounding of three other people in the car. One person in the car was not injured.
The shooting occurred Sunday on the westbound side of U.S. Highway 72 near Slayden, Miss.
“We could just as easily had four or five killed,” said Dickerson. “I can assure you it was numerous rounds, probably fired by two different assault rifles.”
Warrants were issued late Tuesday for two additional people who authorities believe were riding in the back seat of the vehicle, said Dickerson.
Dickerson said he was not yet ready to make the names of those people public.
“We believe that Fleming and Albright were on the front seat,” he said. “To a high degree of certainty, we believe both fired weapons into the car.”
Carol Dye said her daughter was on the way back from a party in Jackson, Miss., when the shooting occurred. Dye, who lives in Memphis, said her children were involved in some sort of argument with the suspects during the party and that’s why they left, but said they ran into them again at a gas station on Highway 72.
Dickerson said Fleming is believed still to be in the Tennessee area.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.