Greenville, MS— Clemell Bogan, Jr., 23, of Greenville was convicted of First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault on Wednesday of this week, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today.
Officers of the Leland Police Department along with emergency medical personnel were dispatched to Hutson Street on March 17, 2020 around 3:30 in the afternoon in response to a shooting victim found lying in the street. They arrived to find an unresponsive Michael Harvey lying in the arms of his girlfriend with a bullet wound to his forehead. The chief of the department was at a nearby store and heard the shots being fired. He rushed to the area and observed Monterrius Smith and Clemell Bogan, Jr. running away from the scene. He was able to catch Bogan who was carrying a firearm. Smith would be captured later.
The chief detective arrived on scene and took custody of Bogan and his gun and collected a gunshot residue kit that would yield a positive result. Witness accounts obtained during the investigation revealed that there had been ongoing issues between Harvey and Bogan and Smith and that moments before the shooting, Bogan and Smith approached Harvey and a relative before pulling a firearm and shooting at them. The victims attempted to run to Harvey’s home on Hutson but the defendants chased them down and he was shot in the head while running. Both Bogan and Smith were indicted for the murder, but Monterrius Smith passed away prior to trial.
At trial, the State presented testimony and evidence that corroborated the accounts of the eye-witnesses and law enforcement—highlighting the fact that both Smith and Bogan were identified on scene and in photo-line-ups, and that Bogan, who had gunshot residue on his hands, was caught on scene with a firearm that had a 14-round magazine but had only six live rounds remaining including one in the chamber. Following the three-day jury trial, a Washington County jury returned verdicts of guilty to First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault. First-Degree Murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Kaylon McCou and Austin Frye. The District Attorney’s office expresses its gratitude for the swift response of the Leland Police Department that led to the apprehension of one of the shooters on scene and the preservation of critical evidence. “This verdict will not return Michael to his family, nor will it resolve the trauma visited upon his young cousin who was shot at and who saw Michael murdered in front of him, but it will hopefully bring a sense of closure and justice as they work to move forward and heal,” McCou added.