Three men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 7-year-old at the Crossroads two weeks ago in a crime that has shocked the community.
Cartravious Brown Jr., 7, died after the car he was in was sprayed with gunfire at Crossroad Laundry Mat on about 5 p.m. Monday Oct. 11. It is alleged that a car pulled into the parking lot and at least two men fired at the car Brown was in.
A 28-year-old man, who has not been identified by police, was also hit by the gunfire and both were rushed to the Clarksdale hospital where Brown died of wounds to the upper body. Brown was a second grader at Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School.
Those arrested and their charges are:
• Brandon Washington, a 28 year-old Black male, who has been charged with one count of Accessory to Murder and one count of Possession of a Weapon by Felon.
• Jontavious Smith, a 21 year-old Black male, who has been charged with one count of Murder.
• Kadarius Thomas, a 28 year-old Black male, who has been charged with one count of Murder.
All three are from Clarksdale with Washington and Thomas arrested in Clarksdale and Smith arrested in DeSoto County. Smith and Washington were arrested Oct. 19 and Thomas was detained on a prior charge the night of the shooting and formally charged on Oct. 19.
The three were arraigned, charged and bond set in Clarksdale Municipal Court.
Brown’s death was part of a day of violence in Clarksdale that saw another man shot and killed and a drive by shooting at the town’s second busiest intersection.
That Monday’s first homicide was reported at 2:08 p.m. with police responding to Roosevelt and Grant streets on a shots-fired call. The victims in that incident were taken to the hospital before police arrived.
Police reports said Walter Morris, 23, Black male and a 19-year-old Hispanic female had been shot in that incident and Morris later died from his wounds. The female was not identified and was transported to an un-named hospital.
Police investigators later arrested Taakaius Conrad, Jr., 21, Black male, and have charged him with Murder and one count of Drive-By Shooting in that shooting.
After the shooting that killed Brown at the Crossroads, police were called to a report of gunfire at the intersection of State Street and Madison Avenue at 6:30 p.m.
Business owners in the area reported multiple shots fired between two vehicles, but there were no reports of anyone hit in that shooting.
Police later determined the shooting occurred on a parking lot with two Black males firing from a vehicle towards a gas station in the 400 block of South State Street.
Monday’s violence prompted a crackdown by police and all 23 officers were called in by the department.
“The Clarksdale Police Department along with the assistance of the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) are diligently following up on leads and evidence gathered to identify those responsible for these shootings,” said Clarksdale Police Chief Robbie Linley, the day after the shooting. “If anyone knows any information on these cases or any other crimes committed in Clarksdale, we ask that they please call 662-621-8152 and ask to speak to someone in the investigative division. Any person or persons may also call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-827-4637.”
Linley said police seized between 15 and 20 weapons in the six hours following the Oct. 11 shootings.
Kadarius Thomas, 28, Black male, has been charged with one count of Possession of a Weapon by a Felon as a result of that sweep. He was arrested in the 600 block of Barnes Street and was placed in jail awaiting a bond hearing and possible parole violation and revocation hearing.
Over the previous weekend Clarksdale reported a number of shots fired at the Double Quick at Desoto and Martin Luther King.
That incident occurred Friday night and it is also under investigation with police seeking witnesses to the gunfire. It was reported that customers at the store dove between gas pumps and ran around behind the building in that incident.
Police said one person was shot in the stomach and another was shot in the leg in that exchange of gunfire.
Clarksdale Police have not reported any arrests in connection with that incident.
“The Clarksdale Police Department will prosecute the person or persons responsible for these crimes and any other crimes to the fullest extent of the law,” said Linley. “The Clarksdale Police Department and the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work together along with our other law enforcement partners to provide a safe living environment for the citizens of Clarksdale.”
