On Thursday, February 20, Jermaine Mayers of Gulfport pled guilty to a manslaughter case from Stone County and a drive-by shooting from Gulfport. After accepting the pleas, Judge Lisa Dodson sentenced Mayers to a total of 50 years with 10 suspended, leaving 40 years to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
The manslaughter plea stemmed from the shooting death of Jacoby Bolton. In that case, the Wiggins Police Department responded to Hope Avenue around 6:30 pm on November 16, 2021. When police arrived, they found the victim deceased in the roadway suffering from three gunshot wounds.
Despite little assistance from residents in the area, the Wiggins law enforcement was able to determine that the defendant, whose nickname is “Bang,” was present and possessed a gun around the time of the shooting. The county investigators then interviewed Mayers, who was in custody in Harrison County at the time. He admitted to shooting Bolton, telling investigators he thought the victim had a gun.
Mayers also entered a guilty plea to a drive-by shooting that occurred in Gulfport on April 24, 2021. In that case, Gulfport police responded to a shooting where they located three victims; two victims who had been shot in the thigh and one victim shot in the arm. Victims and witnesses advised police that two females, who witnesses knew by name, had traveled to the area in a black sedan, and then an unknown male began shooting from the sedan.
“Approximately two hours after the shooting occurred, the two females voluntarily traveled to the Gulfport Police Department and were interviewed by Detectives. Both females advised detectives that the defendant was the person who shot the victims,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burrell, who prosecuted the cases on behalf of the State of Mississippi, said. “One of the females advised the defendant was upset over a fight that occurred earlier in the day.”
After accepting the plea, Judge Dodson sentenced the defendant to the maximum 20 years on the manslaughter and to the maximum 30 years on the drive-by shooting, 10 years suspended, leaving 20 years to serve.
Those sentences were ordered to run consecutively for a total of 50 years, 10 suspended, leaving 40 total years to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. After his release from custody, the defendant will be placed on 5 years of post-release supervision.
