Accused shooter, 16, charged with capital murder
Judge denies bond
After students got off the bus in Windsor Court on Wednesday afternoon, sounds of joy filled the air of the close-knit public-housing community in Hoy. Minutes later, there were gunshots. Then there were the screams and sobs of a mother standing over her bleeding 15-year-old son in the front yard. Then there were sirens, CPR and a flurry of activity as first-responders desperately scrambled to try to save a young life. Then there was silence.
Antwon Thames, 15, an eighth-grader at Northeast Jones Middle School, was pronounced dead at South Central Regional Medical Center.
Gyharvey Satcher, 16, was charged as an adult with capital murder and possession of a stolen firearm. He made his initial appearance in Jones County Court on Friday afternoon and Judge Wayne Thompson denied bond for the suspect, as requested by prosecutor Kristen Martin.
Investigator Denny Graham testified that Satcher confessed to shooting Thames “in the process of trying to rob him” and told them where the firearm was hidden. The gun, a Springfield Hellcat 9mm, had been stolen the day before from a vehicle at a Laurel business, Graham testified.
The suspect and victim had been in an “ongoing feud,” witnesses told investigators. One resident who lived nearby said the suspect was confronting Antwon over something he’d posted on Instagram. Others said the suspect had accused the victim of stealing something from him. Because he is charged with killing someone while in the commission of another felony, he’s being charged with capital murder, meaning he could face life in prison, if found guilty. The Supreme Court has ruled that 16-year-olds who are charged as adults can’t face the death penalty.
“If the facts we are aware of, including the defendant’s confession, play out, my office will seek justice to the fullest extent we can pursuant to the charge of capital murder,” District Attorney Brad Thompson said, “and I intend to see that his new address is Route 1 Parchman, Miss., for a really long time.”
Thames’ death was a gut-punch to an already reeling school community. Glade Elementary 11-year-old Gauge Chancellor died Tuesday from a gunshot that he suffered in a tragic hunting accident. Antwon, a former Glade student who was an eighth-grader at NEJMS, died the next afternoon.
“He was a sweet, fun-loving kid,” said Dr. Jennifer Lowery, principal at NEJ. “This is just so senseless and horrible.”
Just the day before, Lowery had walked over to the middle school and saw him.
“I heard someone holler, ‘Dr. Lowery, did you come over here just to see me?’” she said, smiling at the sweet memory. “He always went out of his way to speak.”
Antwon was an honor-roll student who was on the JV football team, and he was a talented basketball player, too, wrote Kevin Price, who’s associated with Glade Elementary. He posted on Facebook that Antwon was “the bus clown,” but he would often come sit by Price as he drove and they would talk basketball.
“I made the mistake of talking trash one day and telling him I could beat him one-on-one,” so they met up on the court at recess, Price wrote. “Well, he never missed one shot and let’s just say, I’ve never been beat like that ... especially (by) a sixth-grader.
“He was taken too early by a senseless and selfish act and it saddens me to know how he died, but I’m thankful for how he lived and I ask you to join me in praying for his family during this time.
“This has been an unbelievably challenging week losing two student/alumni!”
The suspect had been a student at the school, too, but there were numerous reports that he had been at the alternative school and in juvenile detention, but that youth court and school records aren’t public, so that can’t be confirmed.
Antwon’s mother Ariel extended her gratitude to “friends, family, Jones County School District and the local community who have shown support and love in her most difficult time,” cousin Tonya Wilson Lewis posted on behalf of the family. “Continue to keep the family of the beloved Antwon Thames lifted in prayer.”
Satcher’s mother, who is in a wheelchair, was in court with him along with his stepfather. They met with him and public defender Cruz Gray for a short time during the proceeding. Satcher said he could not afford to hire an attorney and asked for the court to appoint him one. Patrick Pacific was appointed to his case, and it’s likely that an attorney from the Jackson-based Office of Capital Defense will represent him, too.
In asking that bond be denied for the defendant, Martin said that “the presumption of guilt is great, and it appears to be an unprovoked killing, as Antwon Thames was innocent in every way; there was no reason for it.” She also said that some of the eyewitnesses “could be in danger” if Satcher is allowed to be out of jail on bond.
Satcher could also be a flight risk, Martin said, because he has been listed as a runaway in the last couple of years.
When multiple witnesses identified Satcher as the shooter, deputies were familiar with him, Martin said, and knew that his grandmother lived nearby. That’s where they found him when he was placed under arrest.
“This was just totally senseless,” DA Thompson said. “By all accounts from teachers at Northeast Jones, the deceased was an outstanding young man.”
He also commended everyone from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department who was involved in the case.
“This one is tough on them because of the victim’s age,” he said.
In his explanation for denying bond, Judge Thompson said Satcher would present “a special danger to the community.”
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