South MS teen will spend decades in prison after murder committed when he was 15 years old

A teenager from Moss Point will spend four decades in prison after he pleaded guilty this summer to the murder of an 18-year-old he tried to rob three years ago, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office said.

Korey Cameron Monroe, 18, was sentenced on Thursday. Monroe was 15 at the time of the murder, and was prosecuted as an adult. He must serve his 40 years without the possibility of parole. The sentence was the maximum possible because of his age, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Monroe pleaded guilty in July to the murder of 18-year-old Caleb Lett. Before the sentencing, Lett’s family said he was a smart student who lived with Asperger’s Syndrone, and was a devoted member of his church. He died January 18, 2021.

“This is a tragic case where a young man with a very bright future had his life stolen by a senseless act of violence,” District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a news release. “If a juvenile commits a felony with a firearm, the law treats them as an adult. As shown by this maximum sentence, there will be accountability.”

Assistant District Attorney George Huffman, who prosecuted the case, said Monroe tried to rob Lett in his parked car. Surveillance video showed Monroe approach the car, point a gun and open the door, Huffman said.

Lett fought back when Monroe demanded money, Huffman said.

Monroe shot Lett when he left his car, according to Huffman. Monroe fled but was arrested one day later.

The case led to reckoning over the toll of gun violence on Mississippi Coast youth. Then-Mayor Mario King ordered a curfew for all minors and begged frightened residents to see it as a wake-up call about the loss of life by gun violence among teenagers.

Lett was named Mr. Moss Point High School in 2020 and graduated the same year. He was in the percussion section of the band. When he died, he was in his second semester at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Lett “was faithful and devoted, bold and brave, headstrong and, at times, a bit of a knucklehead,” his obituary said. “Above all, he was full of so much love and sincerity that a piece of him is left in every heart he has touched.”

Staff writer Margaret Baker contributed reporting.

This story was originally published August 30, 2024 at 3:16 PM.