Dominique Garrett

An evening game of dominoes among friends became a scene of shocking violence that resulted in four deaths, including that of 23-year-old Dominique Garrett. A former student of Jim Hill High School who had studied welding at Hinds Community College, Dominique was remembered by those who knew him as laid-back. The young Black man was with his brother and at least one other person inside an apartment at the Westwood Apartments on Robinson Road in Jackson, Mississippi, on the night of Thursday, February 9, 2017, when their gathering was violently interrupted.

At approximately 10:20 p.m., at least three men gained unforced entry into the apartment. At least two of the intruders were armed, and they demanded the occupants' belongings. The encounter quickly escalated into a gunfight. Both Dominique and his older brother, 25-year-old Marquis Garrett, were also armed and defended themselves. A chaotic shootout erupted within the confines of the apartment. During the exchange of gunfire, Dominique was struck by multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Marquis was critically wounded and rushed by ambulance to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he was listed in very serious condition.

The gunfight also proved fatal for two of the alleged intruders. Jacarin Robinson, 21, was shot in the head and died inside the apartment. A second man, 23-year-old Jessie Kelly, was also shot. An accomplice reportedly drove Kelly to Merit Health in a private vehicle, where he died from his injuries in the early hours of Friday morning. The tragedy deepened when Marquis Garrett succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Sunday, February 12, three days after the shooting. What began as an attempted robbery had become a quadruple homicide, marking Jackson's 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th homicides of 2017.

The Jackson Police Department responded to the scene at 10:23 p.m. and launched a full investigation into the deadly encounter. Investigators recovered several firearms from the apartment believed to have been used in the shootout. An uninjured occupant of the apartment was questioned by police, though their identity was not publicly released. The day after the shooting, a man police had identified as a person of interest, 24-year-old Carl Harper, turned himself in at police headquarters. He was detained and questioned by detectives regarding his potential involvement in the incident.

However, after being questioned, Carl Harper was released without being charged. A subsequent search of Hinds County court documents found no record of any grand jury indictment against him related to the case. Police believed a third suspect was involved in the home invasion, but that individual has never been publicly identified or apprehended.

The deaths of the two brothers were a devastating blow to their family. One of their aunts expressed her profound grief on social media, writing, "Hey nephew this crazy that my trip to Mississippi is not what I ever dreamed of... I wasn't ever planning on my trip would be coming to you and Dominique Garrett's funeral; that wasn't the plan."

In the years since the violent deaths of Dominique Garrett, his brother Marquis, and the two other men, the investigation has grown cold. No arrests have ever been made, and no charges have been filed for the killings of the Garrett brothers. The case remains unresolved, leaving their family and community without the closure of justice. As of February 2017, authorities were asking anyone with information regarding the case to come forward.