Man sentenced in murders

A Canton man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murdering a teenager and another man at a McDonald’s drive-thru in 2020, District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced Tuesday.

The man, Deondric Green, 22, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Dewey Arthur to serve the next 40 years in prison.

Green pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the 2020 deaths of Robert Luckett, Jr., 13, and Dekarrie Johnson, 24, both of Canton.

The 40-year sentence will be served day-for-day without the possibility of early release or parole Bramlett said. 

Judge Arthur stated, “This man has essentially been given a life sentence. McDonald's parking lots and gas stations are not shooting galleries. We have got to quit killing each other. The streets of the city of Canton are not going to be used for killing sprees.” 

On October 21, 2020, Green and his then-girlfriend Rowena Triplett drove to the McDonald’s located on Highway 22 in Canton. Once there, he saw a car with an individual he associated with a prior altercation and opened fire on the car. 

“Our thoughts are with the survivors and families of the deceased victims of this senseless violence. Retaliation leads to death and destruction for all involved, and oftentimes, innocent bystanders as well,” Bramlett said.

All four occupants of the car were hit with two ultimately dying from their injuries, according to Bramlett. Johnson was dead at the scene while Luckett later succumbed to his injuries at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. 

“If these criminals are associated with a group with bad intentions, our law enforcement agencies are working diligently to determine who the leadership and members of those groups are, who their rivals are, and we will vigorously prosecute all criminal acts attributable to them,” Bramlett said.