Man formally charged in shooting death

By Eloria Newell James, community@leadercall.com

August 19, 2008 09:19 am

— A Laurel man has been officially charged by the Laurel Police Department in connection with a Sunday afternoon shooting.
LPD Detective Earl Reed said Johnny King Jr., 28, of 19 Marion Drive of Laurel has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of Roger Mims, 34, of Laurel.
Reed said police found Mims when officers responded to a call concerning shots fired at 135 Custom Ave. about 3:06 p.m. Sunday.
“Once we arrived on the scene, officers found a black male, later identified as Roger Mims, who had been shot in the lower abdomen area,” Reed said. “King was taken into custody Sunday and was formally charged today (Monday).”
According to police records, King has been charged with one count of manslaughter.
Reed said the men are not believed to have been fighting.
“There was no altercation that we know of,” the detective said. “They were reportedly playing with a gun and it went off and Mims was shot.”
Reed confirmed that the victim and King did know each other. However, he declined to give additional information concerning their relations.
Family members of Mims reported that the two men were cousins.
King has been booked into the Jones County Detention Center.
Officials said King was scheduled to make his initial court appearance on the manslaughter charge before Laurel Municipal Court Judge Cecila Arnold.
Reed said Mims, also known as “Pookie”, was transported from the scene to South Central Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Officials said Mims’ body has been transported to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson, where an autopsy is scheduled to be performed today.

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