Greenville, MS – In Washington County Circuit Court, Marquel Mangum, 24 yoa, pled guilty to killing Kenneth Howard, 25 yoa, on April 22, 2015, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today.
On April 22, 2015, Kenneth Howard was found shot four times in the 300 block of Sunflower Lane here in Greenville, MS. Greenville Police Department Special Operations Unit officers were already in the area executing a search warrant when they heard shots fired and immediately responded to the scene. Minutes later, Greenville Police officers took Magnum into custody at his home where they located the murder weapon. After a thorough investigation, Marquel Mangum was charged with First Degree Murder for Howard’s death.
Mangum was scheduled to stand trial for his crimes today. Instead Mangum pled guilty before Circuit Court Judge Richard Smith. Marquel Mangum pled guilty to the crime of Second Degree Murder and was sentenced to the District Attorney Office’s recommendation of 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Marquel Mangum will serve 30 years in prison without any opportunity for early release or parole. After his release, Mangum will then be on probation for ten years.
Richardson added that, “we hope that this conviction gives the family of Kenneth Howard a sense of closure knowing that the man who took his life has been brought to justice. Marquel Mangum now has the next 30 years to sit in a jail cell and think about the crimes that he has committed.”
Contact: W. Dewayne Richardson
District Attorney, Fourth Circuit Court District | 662-378-2105