A man charged in a Clarksdale murder in mid-November made his initial court appearance on Tuesday, Dec. 18.
Nikolus TaShawn White, 19, had his request for bond denied by Clarksdale Municipal Court Judge Derek Hopson and White remains lodged in the Coahoma County Jail.
He will next appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Dec. 20.
White was arrested Nov. 26 by members of the U.S. Marshals Service at a relative’s home in Conway, Ark. Upon completion of serving a sentence in Conway on misdemeanor charges, he signed a waiver of extradition to Mississippi.
Clarksdale Police transported White from Arkansas to the Clarksdale Police Department, where he was charged with one count of murder for the shooting death of Zavian Griffin.
The 25-year-old Griffin was shot and killed in a Nov. 13 shooting at the Eastgate Gardens apartment complex located off Espy Drive near the Northwest Mississippi Medical Center.
During the investigation by the Clarksdale Police Department, investigators determined that White was a suspect and he had fled to Arkansas.
A murder warrant was issued for his arrest and entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database and the CPD also sought the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service in apprehending White.
Griffin’s death was the 11th murder in Clarksdale. One of the final items Griffin posted on his Facebook page was a message on Nov. 6 reading, “It’ll all eventually get better and be over with.”
