A 31-year-old man was killed Monday night, Dec. 10 in a shooting that Clarksdale police believe is tied to drugs.
Kevin Robinson died in the shooting that took place around 10:30 p.m. Monday at a home located in the 100 block of Ninth Street. Clarksdale Police Chief Sandra Williams said the location of the shooting was at “a known drug house.”
In fact, members of the Clarksdale Police Department and Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the home in August 2018 and confiscated weapons and drugs and made several arrests for drug possession and selling with possession of a firearm.
She said Robinson was not among those arrested in August.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 11, one person had been detained by police in relation to Robinson’s death, said Williams, who added that police are “out now beating the streets.”
Earlier Tuesday, a traffic stop in Clarksdale uncovered drugs and weapons.
The police chief believes there is a correlation in the drug activity and the high number of homicides that have taken place here in 2018.
“We do believe there is an undercurrent of drug activity,” Williams said. “We believe a large number of those (homicides) have been related to gangs and/or drugs.”
Robinson’s homicide was the 12th murder in Clarksdale in 2018.
A previous shooting at a private party that left a Clarksdale man dead has not been ruled a homicide, Williams said. She said police continue to investigate the Nov. 17 shooting at BeeCee’s Place at 857 Desoto Ave. Extended where 27-year-old Demarcus Partee died and three others sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
In that incident, officers reportedly retrieved more than 100 shell casings from the gunfire that erupted around 1:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the business where the private party was held.
She said the police department remains committed to going after those who are fueling this rise in violence in Clarksdale.
“We’re just not going to stop pounding the streets,” Williams said. “We will not give up. We’ll continue to pound the streets.”
