Suspect in 2015 South Mississippi homicide has charges upgraded to murder
A 26-year-old man originally from Marion County is now in Pearl River County custody on a murder charge.
Gary Jamal Daughtry, of Columbia, was arrested Friday after he was located in Pennsylvania, according to Chief Investigator Marc Ogden.
Daughtry has been a suspect since 2015 in a case that began as a suspected one-vehicle accident on Baxterville Road.
Daughtry and three other suspects, Chadrick Devon Daniel, Gerrod Oneal Howard and Kenneth Johnson Jr., were all initially held on charges of tampering with physical evidence, the Picayune Item initially reported.
All four of the men are from Columbia.
During further investigation of the accident, deputies noticed every door of the vehicle open and the driver had at least two gunshot wounds. The body was then sent for autopsy.
Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage told the Picayune Item the autopsy identified the man as Brandon Penry, 31, of Columbia. His cause of death was determined to have been due to multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head.
The investigation revealed that all five men were traveling on Baxterville Road outside of Poplarville when Penry was shot.
Howard was charged with murder during the initial investigation as investigators determined he shot Penry while the vehicle was in motion.
Ogden told the Sun Herald since the original investigation, Daniel and Johnson have also been found guilty in the case.
Daughtry was the last suspect investigators were looking for.
He is held at the Pearl River County jail with no bond.
This story was originally published August 12, 2018 at 2:39 PM.