Four now charged in killing of man found floating in Pascagoula River
Two more people have been charged in connection with the death of Dustin Lee Settles, the Gautier man whose body was found floating in the Pascagoula River Sept. 22.
An autopsy determined his death was a homicide.
Two men were arrested last week and two more arrests were made Thursday, said Jackson County Sheriff Mick Ezell.
Zachary Cooper, 27, of Moss Point and Jason Lee Miller, 36, of Lucedale are each charged with accessory after the fact to capital murder.
Investigators previously arrested 23-year-old Taylor Allan Carpenter of Escatawpa and charged him with accessory after the fact to capital murder.
Bond for each of the three is set at $100,000.
Joseph Paul McLeod, 33, has been in jail since last week, charged with capital murder. He is being held with no bond.
McLeod had been arrested Sept. 24 on unrelated charges, Ezell said in a news release. The capital murder charge was added the following day.
Suttles, 29, of Gautier was found in the river by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks around 1 p.m. earlier this month near the Roy Cumbest Bridge off Wade/Vancleave Road.
Suttles’ family identified him after the Sheriff’s Department shared a picture of his arm with tattoos including the numbers “334” and other images, including what appeared to be tattoos of chains.
A name was also tattooed on his right chest.
After the family saw pictures of the arm with gray and black tattoos, they positively identified him for deputies. The sheriff’s office also said Suttles had on a red, white and blue T-shirt with a skull on it and a blue, white and gray swimsuit.
Authorities found a boat about a quarter mile from where Suttles was found, he said.
Anyone with information can call the sheriff’s department at 228-769 3063.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 3:43 PM.
