JACKSON – Two of the three men charged with shooting a clerk at a Jackson gas station last week and killing the security guard, appeared in court Monday morning and were denied a bond by the judge. Twenty-one year old Kameron Woodard and 29-year old Derrick Johnson had their initial appearance in municipal court on Aug. 1 for the murder of James McKinney.
A third suspect, 23-year old Aaron McNair, remains behind bars in Louisiana and may be extradited to Jackson this week.
McKinney, who was employed as a security guard at the Shell Station at 855 Fortification Street, was on duty the morning of July 25, when two masked men entered the store about 2:30 a.m. with weapons.
Officer Colendula Green, a spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department, said during the course of the robbery, several shots were fired.
“One of the suspects pointed a weapon at the store clerk and attempted to get cash from the register,” Green said. “The security guard came to the aid of the clerk and at that point, shots were fired.”
Green said the store’s clerk, Suvin Sharth, was shot in the leg and McKinney was shot in the upper torso and left arm.
Green said the suspects fled the scene without taking any money.
Police responded about 2:34 a.m. and Sharth was transported to UMC in stable condition while McKinney died from his injuries.
Green said several media outlets assisted in the investigation by airing video footage taken from the store. On July 26, a day after the shootings, JPD received a major break in the case.
“Jackson Police detectives were contacted by the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department,” Green said. “A deputy provided information in regards to the video of the suspect’s vehicle. The deputy stated he stopped the vehicle pictured in the video about a week [prior to the robbery]…and in the trunk…was a 9mm handgun. [And] this is the type of weapon that was used in this crime.”
Green said the Hinds County Deputy had the names of the two men in the vehicle and the license plate number. He positively identified the two men he stopped as the suspects wanted in the shooting as Aaron McNair and Kameron Woodard.
Tips called into CrimeStoppers also linked McNair and Woodard to the shootings.
Jackson police continued their investigation and on July 28, learned that McNair had been arrested in Clinton, La., for several traffic violations including running a stop sign. Detectives went to Clinton and positively identified McNair as a suspect in McKinney’s murder.
When he is returned to Jackson, McNair will face charges of capital murder and aggravated assault.
Green said on July 29, around 6:15 p.m., a second suspect, Kameron Woodard, was arrested by U.S. Marshal’s at a residence in Jackson and he was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault.
Later that afternoon, around 12:30 p.m., the third suspect, Derrick Johnson, was also arrested in Jackson and he was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault. Johnson also faces separate domestic violence and open container charges.
WLBT reported that preliminary hearings for all three suspects are expected in about three weeks.
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