NEW BOSTON, Texas -- A Mississippi man charged with capital murder in a 2020 fatal shooting at a local restaurant is set to stand trial on April 15.
Cedric Deshun Alexander, 31, of Wall, Mississippi, is scheduled for a jury trial in Bowie County's 5th District Court with Judge Bill Miller, according to court records.
Alexander, an alleged member of the Loyalty Cash Business gang, was arrested in June 2022. Alexander is charged with engaging in organized activity-capital murder in the death of Jermaine Aldridge on Dec. 30, 2020, at Chili's restaurant. He is also charged with engaging in organized criminal activity-aggravated robbery.
Police officers found Aldridge lying between two cars in the Chili's parking lot about 4:30 p.m. that afternoon. He had been shot once in the back and died at the scene.
Alexander is represented by attorneys Tabitha Branch and Jeff Harrelson, according to court records. He is being held in Bi-State Detention Center on a $1 million bail.
An 18-month police investigation into alleged violent criminal activity by the LCB/I-30 Cartel gang in the Texarkana area resulted in a number of arrests in June 2022. The extensive investigation involved the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Bowie County District Attorney's Office has charged the defendants with engaging in organized criminal activity.
As Texarkana Texas Police Department detectives investigated, they reportedly discovered Aldridge's killing was a murder-for-hire plot involving the gang. Detectives also determined that the murder was actually part of a much larger series of criminal acts by LCB/I-30 Cartel members.
Investigators believe the LCB/I-30 Cartel gang comprises members of local gangs working together to further their drug business interests. The gang formed businesses including I-30 Cartel entertainment and trucking companies to make it appear the money made from selling drugs came from legitimate means, according to court records.
Detectives think the group was also involved in the shooting of Joseph Hawkins as he sat in a vehicle outside a business in the 1700 block of West Third Street on July 15, 2021. This happened only minutes after another man was tied up inside his West 16th Street home and robbed at gunpoint by several men.
Another alleged LCB member, Markeis Richardson, 35, of Texarkana, Texas, is still at large. He is wanted on felony warrants for engaging in organized criminal activity and engaging in organized activity for aggravated assault.
Richardson recently was named as one of the DPS' 10 most wanted fugitives. He is considered armed and dangerous.
A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to Richardson's arrest. Anyone with information call call the Texas Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).