Clarksdale recorded its second homicide last week with the shooting of a woman on Pecan Street.
“On Friday, February 28, 2025, at 2:08 a.m., officers responded to the 500 block of Pecan Street in reference to a shooting,” said Clarksdale Police Chief Vincent Ramirez in a statement. “Upon investigating the complaint, officers found that Tylerra Friston sustained a fatal gunshot wound.”
Police reports said no one was placed in custody at the scene, but officers did begin their investigation and followed leads. On Monday, March 3, police issued a release saying three people had been arrested and charged in connection with this crime.
• Issa Thornton, no age or hometown given, was charged with Murder.
• Lontreal Stevenson, no age or hometown given was charged with Accessory After The Fact of Murder.
• Jakaja Scott, no age or hometown given, was also charged with Accessory After the Fact of Murder.
All three subjects were transported to the Coahoma County Jail and were scheduled for an initial appearance in Clarksdale Municipal Court where bond, if any, would be set.
Monday’s release said investigators are working to determine the motive for the shooting and are asking for the community’s help in solving details of this homicide.
Any person who may have information regarding this case or any crime in Clarksdale is asked to contact the Clarksdale Police Department at 662-621-8151. Tips can be given anonymously.
Accessory After the Fact requires one of four levels be met to charge someone with accessory to a crime:
1.) Assist someone who has committed a crime.
2.) Assist someone after the person has committed a crime.
3.) Have knowledge that someone has committed a crime.
4.) Help or intend to help a person avoid arrest or punishment for a crime.
A conviction for accessory can result in a 20-year conviction for a violent crime, and 10-years for a non-violent crime.
Friston is Clarksdale’s second homicide of 2025.
Clarksdale recorded its first murder of 2025 mid-way through January when a vehicle was riddled with gunfire parked on a city street killing a man and seriously injuring a woman.
Police responded to a shooting in the 600 block of Cherry Street about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, and made contact with a 27-year-old female who had been shot several times. She was transported by ambulance directly to a hospital in Memphis by Pafford Ambulance Service.
Police found Demarcus Gibson, 34, inside the vehicle suffering from several gunshot wounds. Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene by Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith.
Police have not announced an arrest in that homicide.
Clarksdale and Coahoma County recorded 21 homicides in 2024, with 18 of them being in the city and three in the county.
As of this week, authorities have arrested five people for those 2024 crimes, with two turning themselves in, and two people (one a 13-year-old juvenile) having been turned over to the Coahoma County Grand Jury.
Clarksdale PD currently has three investigators assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division and has 23 sworn officers on its roster. Clarksdale was budgeted for a police force of more than 40 officers in 2021.
