Greenville, MS— Deshunrick Mayes, 28, of Greenville was convicted of Second Degree Murder and two counts of Attempted Murder yesterday, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today.
In the early morning hours of April 10, 2022, officers of the Greenville Police Department along with emergency medical personnel were dispatched to Abide Road in response to a shooting victim. They arrived on scene to find Matthew Chase deceased as a result of a gunshot wound to his chest. Detectives from the department’s Criminal Investigation Division were notified and began their investigation that revealed the victims had stopped in one of their family member’s neighborhoods to look at what appeared to be an old abandoned truck on the side of an alley behind Cornell Avenue.
Shortly after two of them got out of their vehicle, Deshunrick Mayes fired approximately ten shots at them from his back porch which faces the alley about forty yards away—one of the .40 caliber bullets went through the door of their vehicle and struck Matthew Chase in the chest—killing him almost instantly. The victims fled from the shooter and stopped near a friend’s residence on Abide where they discovered Matthew was shot.
Investigators located Mayes at a family member’s home where he refused to come out and threatened officers if they attempted to come in. After over an hour long standoff, with both Greenville Police Department and Washington County Sheriff Deputies all assisting, Mayes was eventually apprehended and taken into custody. Mayes initially told one of the arresting officers that he shot at the victims because he thought they were trying to break into his truck, but later told the lead investigator that he was at work. A subsequent forensic gunshot residue analysis confirmed that Deshunrick Mayes did commit the shooting.
During the three-day jury trial, Mayes and his attorneys argued that he owned the truck and that it was on his property and that Mississippi’s “Castle Doctrine” allowed him to use deadly force against the victims. Prosecutors for the State directed the jury’s attention to the evidence produced at trial which did not support his claim to the truck or that it was on his property, and that, even assuming both were true, he was not justified in shooting and killing Matthew Chase and shooting at the other victims.
After two hours of deliberation, the Washington County jury agreed with the State and returned verdicts of guilty for Second Degree Murder for the killing of Matthew Chase and guilty for two counts of Attempted Murder for shooting at and attempting to kill his other victims.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Kaylon McCou and Austin Frye. The District Attorney’s office is grateful for the response and investigative efforts of the Greenville Police Department, and the cooperation and patience of the Chase family. “We appreciate the jury’s careful consideration and understanding that our State’s Castle Doctrine protects people, not property. Matthew’s killing was senseless and we can only hope that the verdict delivers some measure of comfort to his family as they take another step in finding peace in a world without him,” McCou added.