Columbus police make 2 more arrests in downtown assault
Family members of the suspects and victims were present to learn the outcome.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – We have an update to a story we’ve been following all week.
Two more people are now in custody in connection with an assault in downtown Columbus that left two people injured and one in serious condition.
Peyton Buckner and 25-year-old Robert Ivey were each charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
24-year-old Brody Kizer was arrested on Tuesday and also charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
Family members of the suspects and victims were present to learn the outcome.
“My son could have been dead but he’s alive,” Larry Parker said, the father of one of the victims. “Both of those young men could have been dead but he’s alive today.”
Buckner and Ivy turned themselves into the Columbus Police Department Thursday morning.
The two are the latest suspects to be in police custody following a weekend altercation on Main Street that hospitalized Detrich Jefferson and injured another victim.
Kizer was arrested on Tuesday. Police Chief Joseph Daughtry said all three suspects were each charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
“We have been working around the clock from the time this happened until we got these individuals into custody,” Daughtry said.
According to police, the two victims saw a group of people vandalizing decorations. The two victims questioned the suspects’ actions and then a physical altercation broke out.
In a Thursday morning press conference, Chief Daughtry addressed community suspicions.
“There are a lot of people out there that are throwing out the word hate crime and there are different criteria for a hate crime and people need to understand for it to have elements of a hate crime. That was not meant in this,” Daughtry said.
Larry Parker is the father of 50-year-old Detrich Jefferson, the victim who was left in serious condition.
Parker was inside the courtroom when the suspects received their charges.
“Today is a good day for the citizens of Columbus and my family. First, I was relieved that I was able to see them in person and then again I was saddened because I feel for their families,” Parker said.
No weapons were involved in the incident.
Police are continuing to look for three more individuals involved.
A 150 thousand bond was set for each suspect.
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