A man accused of gunning down two McComb women at a Summit residence Tuesday night remained in jail this morning after a judge set his bond at more than $1 million.
Meanwhile, police have yet to answer many questions surrounding the double homicide that shook the typically quiet town of fewer than 2,000 residents.
Corey Cowart, 36, of Kenner, La., allegedly shot and killed Christie L. Wells, 30, and Tomecka D. Williams, 39, around 7 p.m. Tuesday at the 402 Peters St. home in which he was living.
The house is owned by Cowart’s father who lives in Kenner, La.
Summit Municipal Court Judge José Simo set Cowart’s bonds during an arraignment proceeding in a packed courtroom at town hall around 4 p.m. Thursday.
Simo did not accept a plea and will accept one next Thursday.
Cowart, charged with two counts of first-degree murder, received a $500,000 bond for each charge. Simo also set a $5,000 bond for a charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, which was filed against Cowart after he was booked.
Summit Police Chief Kenny Cotton said a prior felony conviction was discovered on Cowart’s record after lawmen ran his name through a criminal database during the booking process, prompting the weapons charge. Cotton had no further details this morning surrounding the prior conviction.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles around his feet, waist and hands, a visibly distraught Cowart said nothing during the hearing, which lasted only a few minutes.
His parents were at the hearing, and the judge denied a request from his mother to speak to her son.
Within hours of Tuesday’s shooting, Summit police discovered Cowart’s vehicle abandoned with the engine still running on Nobles Road.
Cotton said officers then received a tip as to Cowart’s whereabouts and arrested him around 9:15 p.m. near a convenience store on Highway 51 in Summit.
Authorities and members of the victims’ families have said that Williams was reportedly living in the home with Cowart at the time of the incident.
One family member, who asked not to be identified, said Cowart had relationships with both women for several years.
Cotton, as well as some who knew Cowart and the victims, said rumors have circulated implicating one of the women as the initial shooter, prompting Cowart to return fire out of anger.
“I tried talking to the guy. He don’t want to talk,” Cotton said this morning.
Cotton said he is waiting on lab tests, including gunshot residue tests, that may be able to confirm or deny those rumors.
“The bodies are being checked to see if she possessed the gun,” Cotton said. “We’ll wait on the autopsy reports and basically move forward from there.”
