Three adult suspects and a juvenile, accused in a fatal drive-by shooting, were charged Tuesday in the 9th Circuit Court in Ashdown, Ark.
Joshua King, 20, Brady Winship, 19, and Tenescha Wilkerson, 18, and the juvenile were arrested several hours after two Ashdown teens were shot early July 16, Ashdown Police Chief Mark Ardwin said.
Desmond Smith, 19, died of a gunshot wound to the chest. Samari Covington, 19, was wounded in the arm. Ninth Circuit Prosecutor Bryan Chesshir said the shootings were gang related and described the investigation as "complicated."
The charges include:
- King-murder in the second degree, battery in the first degree and unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle.
- Winship-accomplice to murder in the second degree, battery in the first degree and unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle.
- Wilkerson-accomplice to murder in the second degree, battery in the first degree and unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle.
The juvenile was also charged as an accomplice. Additional information regarding the juvenile, including the name, was not released.
Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Tom Cooper scheduled a pretrial date for the three adults on Nov. 14 and a trial date for Nov. 27 in the Little River County Courthouse in Ashdown.
Ashdown police were dispatched to the Washington Street home around 1 a.m. July 16 regarding a shooting.
According to initial reports, several people in a red Dodge Charger drove by the home looking for someone. A relative who suspected the group was there to fight told them to leave, Ardwin said.
Smith and Covington went out to the vehicle. Shots were fired from the vehicle, striking both men and two parked cars, officials said. The Charger then drove away.
A witness named one of the car's alleged occupants.
Officers recovered 9 mm shell casings at the scene and notified surrounding law enforcement agencies.
The suspected vehicle was stopped by Sevier County Sheriff's Office deputies and a De Queen police officer several hours later near De Queen, Ark., Ardwin said.
The four occupants of the car were taken into custody without incident.
King is being held in the Little River County jail, while Winship and Wilkerson remain in custody in the Sevier County jail. The juvenile is being held in the White River Detention Center near Batesville, Ark.