15-year-old turns themself in after Heartwood Drive shooting

WARREN COUNTY, Miss. (VDN) — A 15-year-old accused of shooting his uncle has turned himself in, according to Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace.

Deputies responded around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 29, to reports of a shooting in the 500 block of Heartwood Drive. Upon arrival, deputies and first responders found a 33-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds to both legs. The victim was transported to a Jackson hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A suspect was identified as 15-year-old Juepharion Wesley, the nephew of the victim.

Brown turned himself in to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 4 p.m. Friday, May 30.

He has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Because of the violent nature of the charge, Mississippi law requires that Wesley be charged as an adult.

At the time of the incident, Wesley was already out on bond for a separate charge stemming from a Nov. 20 case involving shooting into an occupied dwelling in the area of Rancho Road.

Wesley is currently being held without bond at the Warren County Jail, where he will await his initial court appearance.

“By State statute, any violent felony involving a firearm by anybody 13 or older is automatically considered an adult. It’s not a decision that law enforcement makes. It’s a state statute,” explained Pace after the November incident.

Editor’s note: The date was incorrectly stated of the initial shooting. It has now been corrected.