Three teens are being held without bond after allegedly fleeing police and firing upon officers on January 3.
According to Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker, Jarkevis Walden, 19, Corleone Pate, 16, and Jemarius Johnson, 16, all of Lexington, have been arrested and charged with several felonies, including the armed robberies of Dollar General stores in Black Hawk and Vaiden.
Walker said on January 1, 2021, at approximately 9:55 p.m., two masked robbers entered the Dollar General Store in Vaiden as the store clerks were closing. The robbers escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash and clerks did not see a getaway vehicle or the direction the robbers took after they exited the store, Walker said.
On December 14, the Dollar General store in Black Hawk had also been robbed by armed bandits who escaped the store with an undisclosed amount of money.
On January 3, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Carroll County deputies attempted a traffic stop of a 2017 Nissan Altima near the Dollar General at the intersection of Highway 17 and 82 in Carrollton. The driver of the Altima did not yield to police, and deputies pursued the vehicle south on Highway 17 with vehicle speeds reaching more than 120 miles per hour.
The driver of the Altima lost control of the vehicle near the intersection of Highway 17 and County Road 23, and the vehicle left the roadway, overturned, and struck a tree.
“As deputies approached the vehicle, the suspects began firing a rifle at deputies,” Walker stated in a release. “When the deputies returned gunfire, the suspects dropped the rifle and fled into the woods on foot.”
No one was injured as gunfire was exchanged, Walker said.
More than 30 law enforcement officers from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department’s K9 Unit searched the area for nearly four hours to locate the suspects. The Mississippi Highway Patrol helicopter was also employed in the search from the sky.
“With the help of several local citizens, officers were able to apprehend two of the suspects near Black Hawk,” Walker said. “I would like to express my gratitude to the citizens who helped in the arrest and the other law enforcement agencies for assisting in the search.”
Pate and Johnson were taken into custody at that time, and Pate was treated and released from Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital for injuries sustained during the wreck. He was then transported to Carroll-Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility in Vaiden and charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of armed robbery, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
Johnson was transported to Holmes County Jail and charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of armed robbery, possession of a stolen firearm, grand larceny, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
Walden was arrested the morning of January 4 and transported to the Leflore County Jail. He was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of armed robbery, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
The three suspects appeared before Carroll County Justice Court Judge Tinesha Erve-Earnest Tuesday for an initial appearance. Pate and Johnson are being prosecuted as adults, and bond was denied for all three suspects.
