WEST POINT — A Starkville man has been found guilty of capital murder for a 2019 triple homicide in Artesia.
Assistant District Attorney Marc Amos told The Dispatch this morning that Clark Allen Jr. was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Allen murdered Demario Snell, 31, of Artesia, Mauricio Nance, 22, of Columbus and Tyshun Fields, 24, of Crawford, at Snell’s home at 23 Mobile Drive on Jan. 15, 2019.
Amos said that Allen never disclosed the motive for the slayings, but he took the stand in his own defense at his trial in Clay County Circuit Court to claim self defense.
“He tried to claim that one of them tried to take his gun, and then he started shooting,” he said.
Nance was shot in the arm and chest, and the other two in the back, Amos said.
“There was no indication of a struggle,” Amos said. “The medical examiner found that all three were shot from a distance, probably three to four feet away.”
According to arrest affidavits, Allen “attempted to persuade” Snell to “credit” Clark marijuana from him on the day of the murders.
When someone kills three or more people in a single incident the charge becomes capital murder, Amos said. In most cases capital murder charges arise from a murder committed in the course of another felony.
The death penalty was not on the table at the request of the victim’s families, Amos said.
District Attorney Scott Colom, the lead prosecutor for the case, thanked the victims’ families for sticking with him through the process.
“I want to thank the family and friends (of the victims) for their patience and their trust in my office to prosecute this case,” he said. “The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office did an outstanding job with their investigation, and I also want to thank the jury for paying attention to what was a pretty complicated case.”
Lead defense attorney Rhonda Hayes-Ellis could not be reached for comment by press time.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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