Fifth person arrested in September chase that ended in murder of Mississippi teen, according to police

Published 7:15 am Saturday, February 25, 2023

The Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office made a fifth arrest in the murder of 15-year-old Jeremiah Howard Jr, of Hermanville.

Howard was murdered in what was reportedly a drive-by shooting near Port Gibson High School on Sept. 19 of last year in Claiborne County.

The suspect arrested was Dontrell Rowan, 20 of Jackson.

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Rowan has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. The case is currently still under investigation, and the sheriff’s office says that it is anticipating more arrests related to the murder to follow.

Officials believe that Howard was being chased by a vehicle before multiple shots were fired.. Howard was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The other four individuals charged in the case are Maliek Gardner, 21, Justin Thomas, 19, Te’Len Guinn, 18, and Ajavion Anderson, 21. The four were charged with one count each of murder and one count each of attempted murder.