Jackson Jambalaya

Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, II issued the following statement Friday. 

Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens, II, announced today that 38- year-old, Marcus Ashburn has been found guilty in the death of 45-year-old, Jamin Fitzgibbon, a violent confrontation that began as a neighborhood disturbance and spiraled into a deadly machete chase and shooting from a moving U-Haul.

On May 31, 2021, Ashburn and co-defendant Sonnie Stewart, 32, were with a group near Hickory Drive when Fitzgibbon was seen waving a machete in the crowd. When Fitzgibbon left the area, Ashburn followed him to a nearby house, shining a flashlight, with Stewart trailing in a rented U- Haul truck. Ashburn got into the passenger seat of the U-Haul, and as Stewart began to drive away, fired a revolver out of the window, striking Fitzgibbon in the forehead.

Officers responding to the scene found Fitzgibbon on the ground with a machete beneath him. He was transported to the hospital where he died on June 6, 2022. Detectives later located witnesses who heard gunfire and saw a U-Haul truck fleeing the scene. Ashburn and Stewart were soon identified and both admitted to their roles. The defendant, co-defendant, and victim had known each other for years.

After trial, a jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts against Ashburn. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for Second-Degree Murder and Drive-By Shooting to be served concurrently in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

“You don’t solve disorder with deadly force. This defendant made a conscious choice to escalate a disturbance into a homicide,” said District Attorney Owens. “This kind of violent escalation is exactly what destroys communities. Our office remains committed to holding violent offenders accountable.”