Judge dismisses lawsuit over mass shooting, teen’s death in South MS. Here’s why
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge dismissed federal civil-rights claims in Ocean Spring mass shooting.
- Mother of deceased teen can still pursue wrongful death case in state court.J
- Criminal trial for accused shooter is set for April in Jackson County Circuit Court.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed over a teen’s death in a mass shooting at The Scratch Kitchen in downtown Ocean Springs, but the young man’s mother says her legal fight will continue.
U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden left the door open for Kimberly Harmon to pursue a case in state court. Her son, 19-year-old Chayse Harmon was shot dead in May 2023 at the packed bar on Government Street in the heart of downtown Ocean Springs. Fa’Darius Davon Williams is accused of shooting Chayse Harmon and four survivors during a Cinco de Mayo party at The Scratch Kitchen.
The business was subsequently closed by Jackson County Chancery Court order.
Kimberly Harmon filed the lawsuit against the city of Ocean Springs, then-Mayor Kenny Holloway, Police Chief Ryan Lemaire, who was not yet in the job at the time of the shooting, and Jackson County. Others originally named in the federal lawsuit had already been dismissed from the case.
Ozerden has now ruled that Kimberly Harmon’s wrongful death lawsuit failed to offer facts about specific conduct on the county’s part that violated federal civil rights laws, as she alleged. Ozerden had already dismissed federal claims against Holloway, Lemaire, the city and police department, also saying she failed to support her claims that Harmon was deprived of his constitutional rights “under color of law,” and that a conspiracy existed to deny him those rights.
Civil lawsuit’s future uncertain
Ozerden also declined to keep jurisdiction over the remaining state claims against the defendants, but dismissed them without prejudice, meaning Harmon can pursue a civil lawsuit in state court.
“This is not the end of the story,” Harmon said. She hopes to take her case to state court. Harmon already has one lawsuit open in Jackson County Circuit Court against The Scratch Kitchen owner Brittany Cruso, who has denied any wrongdoing.
But Harmon’s attorney in the state case, Matthew Mestayer of Biloxi, asked to withdraw, a motion Circuit Judge Calvin Taylor granted in May 2025. The court docket shows no further activity in that case. In the federal case, attorneys Eric Tiebauer of Waynesboro and E. Nicholas Cerra of Laurel also recently asked to withdraw as attorneys for Harmon. Their motion was scheduled to be heard Feb. 25 before Ozerden dismissed the case.
The suspect in The Scratch Kitchen case, Fa’Darius Williams, is set for trial April 13 in Jackson County Circuit Court on one charge of first degree murder, four charges of aggravated assault, and one charge each of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and receiving stolen property.
