An Oktibbeha County man arrested for the murder of three men in Artesia earlier this year has been indicted for capital murder.
A Lowndes County grand jury returned a true bill for Clark Allen Jr., 20. Allen is accused of shooting and killing Demario Snell, 31, of Artesia, Mauricio Nance, 22, of Columbus, and Tyshun Fields, 24, of Crawford, in Snell’s home at 23 Mobile Dr. on Jan. 15.
Authorities found the three victims in Snell’s home after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots. According to arrest affidavits in Lowndes County Justice Court, multiple witnesses provided investigators with a description of Allen, who was arrested later that day. Authorities previously told The Dispatch the murders may have been drug-related, though Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Greg Wright said investigators were not sure whether drugs were the primary motive.
According to arrest affidavits, Allen “attempted to persuade” Snell to “credit” Clark marijuana from him on the day of the murders. However, the documents do not specifically link the alleged attempted drug deal to the murder, nor does it indicate whether Snell cooperated with Allen.
Also indicted for second-degree murder was Jonathan Jamahl Bardley, 30, who was arrested late last year for the Dec. 25 death of 32-year-old Deanna Clark.
Clark was found pinned between a tree and a car off Aileen Drive in north Columbus, according to previous reporting by The Dispatch. She was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle and later flown to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson where she died later that day of her injuries. After he allegedly hit Clark with the car, Bardley left the scene of the accident. He later turned himself in to authorities.
Bardley was also indicted for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.
A third suspect was indicted for manslaughter after the suspect apparently believed he was acting in self-defense.
Terry Lee Bradford, 56, was arrested for the Sept. 29 shooting death of Walter James Kyles, Jr., 56.
Kyles’ body was found behind some apartments at the intersection of 11th Street and 11th Avenue South the next day, according to previous reporting from The Dispatch. Bradford turned himself in to investigators less than 24 hours later.
Investigators initially said the two men had been involved in a previous altercation. However, the indictment says Bradford was “under the actual, bona fide belief that such killing was necessary in order to protect himself or another from great bodily harm or death, but that such belief was not reasonable under the circumstances.”
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