Teens sentenced for roles in carjackings

Three Jackson teens have each been sentenced for their roles in a carjacking spree that spanned multiple cities in the metro area last year, Madison County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett said this week. 

“These three teenagers came into Madison County — not once but twice — with the sole intent of carjacking innocent people at gunpoint,’ Bramlett said. “They then went and terrorized the citizens of Clinton, Terry, and Byram.”

One of the teens, Karmello Martello Gaines, 17, was identified by Bramlett as the ringleader. His accomplices were Ti’Jerrical Thornton, 18, and Deterrious Williams, 16.

All three individuals pleded guilty to two counts of armed carjacking for the acts occurring in Madison County.  

“Armed carjackings, armed robberies, or any other crimes perpetrated with the use of gun will not be tolerated in Madison and Rankin counties,’ Bramlett said. “Please be aware of this… our office will continue to send offenders to prison for lengthy sentences, no matter their age, for violent offenses such as these.”

Both Williams and Thornton pleaded early in the prosecution and agreed to testify against Gaines if necessary, Bramlett said.

Williams was sentenced to 17 years in custody. Thornton was sentenced to 10 years to serve. Gaines, who originally elected to go to trial, but later pleaded guilty in front of Judge Dewey Arthur was sentenced to 30 years to serve for his role as the ringleader. 

Bramlett said the charges stem from an incident reported on Aug. 29, 2021, when the Ridgeland Police Department responded to a carjacking at a convenience store on Lake Harbor Drive. The victim, an employee at the store, stated two masked men with guns forced her away from her car and stole it.  

The two men were followed out of the store by another vehicle driven by a female. Using the location data from the victim’s phone, officers were able to track the stolen car to Clinton, Bramlett said. While in Clinton, the trio carjacked another car and went back to Ridgeland.  

He said they then carjacked a third victim at the Residence Inn and led officers on a high-speed chase into Jackson where officers lost sight of them.  

That same night, the group carjacked and fired shots at a fourth victim in Terry as well as carjacking a fifth car in Byram, officials said.

Through a multi-jurisdictional operation, officers identified the main gunman as Gaines, who was 16 at the time. Bramlett said he was accompanied each time by Williams and Thornton.  

“We are so grateful that the various police departments were able to work together quickly and effectively to quickly capture them and prevent anyone from getting seriously hurt,” Bramlett said. 

Officers were able to confirm the shell casings from where the gunman fired shots at the Terry carjacking victim were from the same gun found on Gaines at the time of his arrest. All evidence indicated that Williams was responsible for driving the stolen cars from each crime scene, and Thornton drove the two men to the carjackings so that they could leave in a newly stolen car, according to Bramlett.