Quadruple homicide suspect charged with capital murder
The suspect in the fatal shooting of four people outside a Yazoo City nightclub Monday is charged with one count of capital murder, officials said.
Briddell Barber, 27, is now the suspect in a total of five homicides. He was out on a $100,000 bond for a separate March homicide outside another Yazoo City nightclub.
A release from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation stated that Barber is now charged with one count of capital murder in relation to the shootings. He was arrested by U.S. marshals in Jackson around 9:30 a.m. Monday.
Authorities said the one capital murder charge imposed by the district attorney is because the other three homicides are being treated as the underlying felony. DPS spokesman Warren Strain said the charges could be upgraded as the investigation goes on.
Authorities said the shooting happened close to 1 a.m. after an argument at Club 66 in Yazoo City. Two of the people were pronounced dead at the scene, and the other two died at University of Mississippi Medical Center, according to Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers.
Shivers said all four men died of gunshot wounds. They were identified by officials as Edward Johnson, 36; Kevin Johnson, 30; Jerrandan Allen, 32; and Gabriel Townsend, 35. All four victims are residents of Yazoo City.
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One of the victims was giving Barber's girlfriend a ride from the club, Yazoo City Police Chief Andre Lloyd said, and Barber didn't want her to ride home with him. The other three victims appeared to have been unrelated to the argument.
Barber was accused in a March homicide outside Club Teflon. Justin Jamal Porter, 25, was the victim in that shooting.
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Contact Therese Apel at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com . Follow her on Facebook and Twitter .