WEBB — A man who died last week after being shot in the head is believed to be the victim of a “planned robbery that went bad,” and two local residents have been charged in the incident, according to Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly.
The sheriff identified the victim as Adrian Wilchie, 44, whose driver’s license listed his address as Route 1, Box 38, Glendora. Fly said investigators learned that Wilchie apparently had been living in Webb of late.
“It appeared he had been shot in the head multiple times,” Fly added.
The sheriff said Wilchie's wallet was missing from the scene and has not been found.
Quardero Gipson, 19, of 131 N. Laura St., Webb, and Quincy Scott, 20, of 194 Williams Dr., Tutwiler, have been charged with capital murder and conspiracy to commit a crime in connection with the July 23 early-morning shooting death of Wilchie, the sheriff noted.
The suspects faced an initial appearance before Tallahatchie County Second District Justice Court Judge Denise Washington-Lockett at Sumner, where they were ordered held without bond, Fly explained.
The sheriff said the shooting occurred sometime after midnight last Thursday in the Goose Pond subdivision south of Webb.
The scene of the violence was discovered by a resident of the subdivision, who reported it to authorities at 2:15 a.m., Fly noted.
Wilchie’s lifeless body was found on the ground alongside a pickup truck on the north end of Second Street, at its T-intersection with Goose Pond Circle, the sheriff explained.
Fly said the truck, later confirmed to be Wilchie’s, was parked in the street at a stop sign, its engine running and driver’s door open.
“It appeared Mr. Wilchie had been pulled out of the driver’s seat,” the sheriff noted.
Fly said the working theory is that Gipson and Scott were passengers in the truck that Wilchie was driving, but the sheriff declined to speculate on a possible connection between the alleged criminals and their victim.
“I believe they had planned to rob him” and an altercation ensued, noted Fly.
“We found 9 mm shell casings and a projectile inside the truck,” he said. “It appeared that the altercation happened all inside the vehicle. We didn’t find any shell casings or anything else outside the vehicle.”
Fly said Wilchie’s truck and other evidence was sent to the North Mississippi Crime Lab in Batesville for analysis.
“During the course of the investigation, it led us to the two people we have arrested,” the sheriff explained.
He said the Panola County Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating Gipson and Scott in Crowder and picking them up late Thursday.
“When we found those two in Crowder, we found two 9 mm handguns there with them,” Fly noted, adding that the weapons have been sent to the Crime Lab for processing.
The sheriff said Gipson and Scott were received for investigation at about 10 p.m. last Thursday prior to being formally charged.
Tallahatchie County Coroner Ginger Meriwether, who pronounced Wilchie dead at the scene, transported his body to the Mississippi Forensics Lab in Pearl for autopsy, Fly noted.
“We’re waiting on the autopsy,” the sheriff said Tuesday. “The medical examiner’s office is backed up, and it’s going to be another week or so before they can do the autopsy.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was called in and has been assisting local officials in the ongoing investigation, Fly noted.
