The year 2015 saw an unparalleled number of murders in Brookhaven. Arrests have been made in some of those cases, but currently four cases either have no arrest or the suspect arrested wasn’t indicted.

Cases without indictments

Pierre Thomas was arrested for the July murder of Glen Mack, but a grand jury in April refused to indict him.

According to police reports, Brookhaven police responded to a call of a shooting at 11:42 p.m. on July 23. Mack was pronounced dead at University of Mississippi Medical Center at 5 a.m. the following morning.

District Attorney Dee Bates said if additional evidence is found, the case could be presented to a grand jury again.

The man charged in the shooting death of Kelcay Humphrey was also not indicted by a grand jury. Claudis D. Montgomery, 40, of 4208 Highway 550, was released from the Lincoln County jail in December after a grand jury refused to indict him in its December session. Montgomery was charged with murder on July 7 after the July 5 shooting of Humphrey.

Humphrey was sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter in a shooting but was on earned release supervision at the time of his death.

Kimberly Brown Jones was found dead on Jan. 12 at 933 Crooked Lane, but police do not believe she was killed there. Jones’s boyfriend, James Haines, was charged in the murder but was not indicted. Haines was ultimately released from the county jail June 1.

Cases with arrests

Aquarius Nelson died at King’s Daughters Medical Center Nov. 2 after being shot multiple times in his home. Cordarryl Lamond Bell was later arrested in the murder by the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force in Erie, Pennsylvania. Bell was indicted for first-degree murder and aggravated assault on April 22. He is currently in the Lincoln County jail.

Jimmy Lyons was accused of shooting three children and their parents on March 13. BPD responded to a call about an injured woman lying on the road at 12:20 a.m. that morning, where they found Victoria Sims. She had been shot in the chest. Jermaine Sims Sr. and his 9-year-old daughter Jamiyah Sims were killed in the shooting. Takial and Jermaine Jr. had also been shot. Lyons was charged but was found unresponsive in his cell on May 30. He was later pronounced dead at King’s Daughters Medical Center. The cause of death is currently unknown, but an autopsy has been ordered.

Brookhaven police found Tara Ashley Hudson unresponsive after responding to a domestic violence call at 1:51 a.m. on Nov. 30. Hudson was later pronounced dead, and Jeremy Wayne Cupstid was arrested for her murder. Cupstid is currently in the Lincoln County jail waiting for his case to appear before a grand jury, who will decide whether or not to issue an indictment.

Julian Gayten and Jaquarius Jones died after shooting each other Christmas Eve. It appears that Jones was attempting to commit a robbery, according to police. Marionne Keys was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy after the fact to commit murder after police said she had discussed robbing the Gayten residence with Jones through text messages, while she had also been in contact with Gayten. Police said at the time that she pitted Gayten and Jones against each other. Keys bonded out of the Lincoln County jail in January. Her case is currently pending a decision by a grand jury.

Case without arrest

There have been no arrests in one of 2015’s murders. Bridget London Hall died on July 6 after being shot multiple times at close range at her home. Police have asked anyone with information in the case to come forward.

Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell was out of the office and unable to respond to a request for comment on the open murder cases.

In Lincoln County’s only murder in 2015, an arrest was made and a man was convicted of the crime. Fred Hill III was found guilty of the murder of Timothy Green on Feb. 17 and sentenced to life in prison. Hill’s requests for retrial and acquittal were denied on April 18. According to court documents, Hill is currently in the process of appealing his conviction.