Jackson Jambalaya

 Rankin-Madison District Attorney Bubba Bramlett issued the following statement. 

Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced that De’Anthony Ra Shad Smith, a twenty-seven-year-old resident of Vicksburg, MS, has been convicted and sentenced following his guilty plea to Armed Robbery, Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Smith had been previously convicted in October of 2018 in Dallas County, Texas, for Aggravated Robbery.

Judge Steve Ratcliff sentenced Smith to forty-five (45) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) for the Armed Robbery; five (5) year sentence for Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and ten (10) year sentence for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

On September 8, 2023, Rankin County Sheriff Deputies responded to a report of an armed robbery at Dollar General on Highway 469 South in Florence, MS. A store clerk and customer reported a lone masked individual entered the store, displayed a firearm, threatened them, and demanded money. The surveillance video showed Smith entering the store's front door, grabbing and pocketing several handfuls of cash before departing through the front door. Another witness provided law enforcement with the tag number of a suspicious vehicle parked in a nearby driveway. A be on the lookout (BOLO) was issued for the vehicle, which led to Clinton Police officers locating and stopping the car on I-20. Smith had the gun and some of the money stolen from Dollar General.

District Attorney Bubba Bramlett commended the hard work and cooperation of the Rankin County Sheriff's Department and Clinton Police Department and the alert citizen who reported the suspicious car. "We are grateful that the various departments and community were able to quickly and effectively capture this armed robber. Armed robberies and other crimes perpetrated with the use of a gun will not be tolerated in Madison and Rankin Counties.”