Jacoby Lebbaeus Bolton, 19, was shot dead on the evening of November 16, 2021, in Wiggins, Mississippi. Police found his body in the roadway on Hope Avenue around 6:30 p.m.; he had been shot three times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Friends and family remembered the Perry Central High School attendee as goofy, humble, and kind.

Investigators initially faced reluctance from residents in the area, but they identified a suspect known to possess a firearm who had been present during the shooting. That individual, 21-year-old Jermaine Mayers of Gulfport, also known as Bang, was already in custody in Harrison County on unrelated matters when interviewed. Mayers admitted to shooting Bolton and told investigators he believed Bolton was armed.

Mayers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Bolton’s death and was sentenced to the maximum 20 years for that charge, to be served consecutively with a sentence for an unrelated April 24, 2021 drive-by shooting in Gulfport, for a total of 40 years in custody.