A local man has been charged with shooting his girlfriend during a Friday night altercation at the Marshall Road Apartments complex near Charleston, according to Tallahatchie County Sheriff William Brewer.
Tracy Lee Jenkins Jr., 25, of 357 Mount Olive Road, Tillatoba, is charged with domestic violence aggravated assault and is being held at the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston with bond set at $100,000, the sheriff said.
Brandi Hunt, 25, of 185 E. Third St., Crowder, whom Brewer said sustained “a gunshot injury” during the incident, was listed in fair condition Tuesday night at the Elvis Presley Trauma Center at Regional One Health (formerly The Med) in Memphis, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Over the weekend, and as recently as Monday afternoon, Brewer said Hunt’s condition had been reported to him as “extremely critical,” but by later that day it had been upgraded, he noted.
Brewer said the shooting occurred at about 8:25 p.m. Friday in the vicinity of Building A, Apartment 2, outside the complex located at 73 Marshall Road. The sheriff declined to say whether there were any eyewitnesses.
Hunt was transported by private vehicle to Tallahatchie General Hospital, then airlifted to Memphis.
“The victim and the suspect had a relationship for what’s believed to be several years,” explained Brewer. “It’s not known what led to this tragedy.”
Brewer said Jenkins allegedly fled the scene. Due to conflicting reports of his whereabouts, including that he might have left the state, the sheriff said local officials enlisted the assistance of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Brewer said he spoke with Jenkins’ family, asking them to reach out to the suspect and convince him to surrender.
At about 10 Saturday night, Jenkins turned himself in at Brewer’s office on South Pleasant Street in Charleston.
“He’s cooperated,” said Brewer. “We’ve recovered important evidence related to the case.”
The sheriff said he also wanted to make public his criticism of some local social media junkies in the wake of Friday night’s shooting.
“I wish people wouldn’t spread rumors like that,” Brewer said. “None of what I’ve heard on Facebout about this incident is true.”
