2 teenagers arrested for murder in city park

CANTON — Two teens have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a man found at a baseball field here just a week before Christmas.

Tyjerious Damichael Sims, 19, was arrested and charged with controlled substance violation, failure to comply, capital murder, conspiracy, possession of a stolen firearm and arson of a dwelling.

Jaheen Tyrone Harris, 18, was arrested and charged with capital murder, armed robbery, conspiracy, possession of a stolen firearm and arson of a dwelling.

Both were taken in on Jan. 8 in the evening. Both remain in the Madison County Detention Center on a $550,000 bond each.

Canton Police Chief Otha Brown said that his officers and Sheriff’s deputies arrested the two when they served a warrant at a house out in the county. 

Brown said that they were wanted by his department in connection with the shooting death of Dario Robinson, discovered just before Christmas. The Sheriff’s office wanted them for separate crimes. 

The Sheriff’s Office was unavailable for additional comment as of press time.

Upon their arrest, Sims and Harris were found to be in possession of a number of items, including some that belonged to Robinson.

Brown said that Robinson, 35, was found dead on Friday, Dec. 18 around 7:30 a.m. by a Canton Parks and Recreation employee on one of the baseball fields at the Canton Multi-Purpose Complex. 

Brown said that Robinson had suffered one fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Brown said that some details remain unknown and officers continue to interview Harris and Sims but that they believe the motive to be robbery.

Robinson was an employee at the Peco Foods Plant on West Fulton Street. Robinson was reportedly last seen at work on Thursday, Dec. 17 when he left work on his break. 

Brown said that Robinson was still clocked in at the plant when his body was found the following morning.

Robinson was one of eight murder victims reported in the city last year. Brown has said that 2020 was one of the most violent years in the city in his memory.

“The shootings are out of control,” Brown said at the end of last year. “We need more community help in solving some of these cases. We are out there doing our job but we cannot be everywhere at once.”

The year was capped by a triple homicide of members of a family of immigrants from Guatemala. Officers found Faustino Ramirez, 20, and his pregnant wife, Martina, 19, dead with gunshot wounds to the head around 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, according to Brown.

Authorities said Martina was about eight months pregnant and police are treating the matter as a triple homicide.

Their one-year-old daughter survived but suffered a gunshot wound to the face and Faustino Ramirez’s younger brother Robert, 15, survived by hiding in a closet.

The motive is believed to be $2,000 in cash that was taken from the home.

In June, an elderly security guard was shot “execution-style” at a Canton apartment Complex. 

David Herrin, 85, was shot “multiple times” in his vehicle the night of Sunday, June 14 at Canton Estate Apartments where he worked as a security guard, Heath Hall, a spokesman for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department said at the time.

“The deputy found the man in a vehicle and determined he was shot multiple times at close range,” Hall said then. “It was an execution-style murder.”

The case has gone unsolved and S & S Management Group, LLC, which operates as Guard One Security in Mississippi, is still offering a $5,000 reward leading to information on Herrin’s killer.

The next month, Devante Xavier Johnson, 27, of Canton turned himself in connection with the July 26 shooting of Ramone Gutter, 32, in front of a convenience store. 

Gutter died of his wounds at UMMC. Gutter rapped under the name “Ray Gutta.”

In October, Deondric Devontae-Remon Green opened fire on a vehicle in the McDonalds drive-through on West Peace Street. 

Brown said that Dekarrie Johnson, 24, was found dead on the scene on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

In addition, 13-year old Robert Luckett succumbed to his injuries at the University of Mississippi Medical Center later that week. Two others were sent to the hospital following the shooting but survived.

Green, 20, was identified as the suspected shooter. He now faces two charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting. 

Rowena Shyanne Triplett, 23, Green’s girlfriend, has also been charged in connection with these murders and faces two charges of murder and two charges of attempted murder. Both suspects have been denied bond.

Brown said that anyone with information on any of these or other incidents is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 601-355-TIPS (8477).