BELZONI – Three people have been bound over to the grand jury for shooting a man to death in an alley last month. Larry Chapman, his girlfriend, Melissa Brooks, and his cousin, Antonio Wright, remain behind bars after authorities said they allegedly shot 35-year old Raymond Holmes to death.
James White, the Assistant Chief for the Belzoni Police Department, said on Jan. 15, around midnight, Holmes was on his way to his mother’s house on First Street in Belzoni, when the suspects saw him sitting in his vehicle.
“They were riding around and they noticed that he was parked,” said White. “And that’s when they got out of the car and began shooting at him inside the car.”
White said Holmes got out of his car, which was parked at the Church Street alley, and ran toward First Street.
“He was basically trying to get home so they wouldn’t shoot him,” White said. “But he didn’t make it. They shot him in the back, and they finished him from there. They shot him in the head and in the chest.”
White said a passerby notified authorities and Holmes was transported to Patron’s Choice Hospital in Belzoni. He was later transferred to UMC in Jackson, where he died.
White said their investigation led them to Chapman, Wright and Brooks and they were arrested an hour after the shooting at Brooks’ home on Robinson Street. All three suspects were arrested without incident.
White said the small caliber handgun used in the murder was also recovered.
Authorities believe that Chapman and Wright were the gunmen in the slaying and that Brooks drove the car used in the assault.
Chapman, who has a prior felony armed robbery conviction, was charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy and felony possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. His bond was set at $100,000.
Wright and Brooks were charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit murder. Their bond was also set at $100,000.
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