STARKVILLE — Two deadly shootings occurring less than 24 hours apart bookended a multi-state manhunt Saturday.
Few details have emerged since an Oktibbeha County homicide led to the death of the primary suspect and the arrest of an alleged accomplice, but Oktibbeha County Sheriff Steve Gladney said both the alleged shooter and victim knew each other.
Deputies were dispatched to 1195 John High Road about 1:45 a.m. Saturday for a call regarding a homicide and a kidnapping. There, they found a victim, later identified by Coroner Michael Hunt as 30-year-old James Chandler, dead from a gunshot wound.
The kidnapping victim, a female not identified by deputies, was able to free herself before law enforcement agents arrived and subsequently named a suspect.
A capital murder warrant was issued for 38-year-old Terrance Avern Grayer, of 953 Andrew Road, Starkville. He also faced charges of kidnapping and burglary of a dwelling.
Gladney confirmed Chandler and the kidnapping victim were both at the residence at the time of the alleged burglary.
“(Grayer) went into the residence, and that’s when he opened fire. Everything was connected. They knew each other,” the sheriff said.
Gladney declined to comment further. Authorities have not provided a motive for the crime.
Manhunt leads to suspected suicide
A manhunt began in Oktibbeha County and spread to Tennessee, where Gladney said Wayne County law enforcement agents spotted Grayer’s vehicle about 5:30 a.m. and attempted to pull over the alleged fugitive.
A call to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department went unreturned Sunday, but WSMV-TV of Nashville, Tennessee, reported Sheriff Ric Wilson said Grayer used a gun to force a female driving the vehicle out of the automobile. He then moved to the driver’s seat and fled the scene.
Wayne County deputies arrested 36-year-old Tessa Weeks, also of 953 Andrew Road, on a single count of accessory to murder, OCSD reported in a press release. The report also noted a brief vehicle pursuit by WCSD.
It is believed Weeks was not at the John High Road residence at the time of the burglary and murder, but Gladney said investigators must interview the suspect after her extradition back to Mississippi.
Law enforcement agents eventually established a search perimeter in Waynesboro, Tennessee. The Times Daily, of nearby Florence, Alabama, reported authorities heard a gunshot when they entered an abandoned home.
Inside, they found Grayer’s body.
“You hate for anything like that to happen, but everyone did a good job investigating this crime,” Gladney said. “Everyone was scrambling around that night, and it’s at least good to get to a conclusion on this.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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