Two of four men suspected of breaking into a Brookhaven house and killing a 21-year-old woman on Saturday night are behind bars, with one arrested Monday afternoon at the Jackson airport.
Zaria Antel Newton of Mason Road, was shot in the home invasion when she and her boyfriend, whose name has not been released, caught the burglars by surprise.
The pair returned to the home after receiving a security alert to find a burglary in progress at 10:30 p.m., the Clarion Ledger reported.
Newton died as a result of her gunshot wound, according to media reports. Her boyfriend was not hurt.
The suspects have been identified as Justin Anderson, Shawan “Dodie” Allen, Adrian D. Smith and Jatavious Q. Berry, all of the Brookhaven area except for Anderson, who has ties to Natchez, according to Brookhaven police.
The suspects were identified after authorities released a surveillance video plainly showing each of the accused.
A harrowing surveillance video from inside the home was made available by the Brookhaven police on the department’s Facebook page Sunday afternoon.
The video shows the four suspects roaming throughout the Brookhaven home by flashlight, even rummaging through the fridge.
The camera is positioned in what appears to be the living room of the home facing the kitchen. Throughout the video, the men walk in and out of view of the surveillance camera.
Smith was arrested by police at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Jackson at noon Monday.
Brookhaven Police Chief Kenneth Collins told television station WAPT that Smith knew the victim.
Jackson Municipal Airport Authority spokesperson L. Sherie Dean said Smith had been arrested by airport police and turned over to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
Brookhaven Police brought Smith to the Lincoln County Jail on Monday afternoon.
Berry was arrested on Sunday in Brookhaven and charged with capital murder.
Anderson stood trial in the murder of Billy Thomas Jr., of Brookhaven, but was acquitted in 2017. He is now wanted on a capital murder charge.
Allen allegedly went to the Crystal Springs home of his 17-year-old girlfriend and forced her at gunpoint to drive him to Jackson on Sunday night, according to various media reports. An off-duty Copiah County sheriff’s deputy noticed her driving erratically and pursued them.
Allen jumped out of the moving vehicle and made his way on foot to a nearby home and demanded car keys from the homeowner. The owner said that they didn’t know where their car keys were and Allen went into some nearby woods.
The homeowner called police and a manhunt ensued, with officers from Crystal Springs police, Brookhaven police and the Mississippi Highway Patrol, along with search dogs, working to find Allen. The search was called off around 2 a.m. Monday.
Allen is believed to have stolen a Copiah County truck Sunday night south of Crystal Springs on Highway 51. He apparently crashed that truck north of Wesson on Highway 51 and stole a gray 2018 Ford Fusion with Louisiana tag 417 BKS at gunpoint after a passerby stopped to help him. The passerby was not harmed in the interaction.
Police suspect Allen is headed to Jackson.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Allen or Anderson is asked to call the Brookhaven Police Department at (601) 833-2424 or the Lincoln County Crime Stoppers at (601)823-0150.
