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'Angel gone back to God.' Coast groups raise money for family of baby shot in police pursuit

Sun Herald - 9/5/2021

Sep. 5--The first time Jeremy Parker saw his newborn nephew in person, the baby was in a casket.

La'Mello Parker was only about 3 months old when he was killed after Mississippi law enforcement opened fire on the car driven by his father, Eric Derrell Smith. Smith had left Louisiana after allegedly shooting and killing La'Mello's mother and her nephew. Officials have not said whose bullet killed the baby.

Four months later, Jeremy Parker waits for answers and tries to provide for La'Mello's four siblings, who are growing up without their mother. He can't understand why the low-speed pursuit on Interstate 10 ended the way it did, when officers knew La'Mello was in the car.

"They just rained bullets in there like the baby wasn't in there," Parker said. "I want to ask, why did you do that? That's my question -- why?"

Jeremy Parker and other family members, including La'Mello's siblings, came to Biloxi this weekend for a fundraiser organized by Coast groups including YO Gulf Coast, the Biloxi NAACP, Black Lives Matter Mississippi, the Mississippi Rising Coalition and ADOS Mississippi.

The event, a free-throw competition at the Kroc Center, raised more than $1,500 for the family.

La'Mello was born in January 2021. Jeremy, who lives in Centreville, Mississippi, stopped by hoping to meet him sometime around April, but his sister and the baby had gone to a check-up. He never got another chance.

A low-speed pursuit, a barrage of gunfire

Smith allegedly shot and killed La'Mello's mother, Christin Parker, 32, and her nephew, Brandon Parker, 26, at their home near Baton Rouge on May 3. He left the house with La'Mello and drove into Mississippi, where law enforcement started pursuing him on I-10 around Gulfport.

Officers used spikes to flatten his tires, and he sometimes drove as slowly as 10 miles per hour. Near Woolmarket, Smith drove his car into the median.

Exactly what happened next remains unclear. Biloxi police said Smith was getting out of his car, but in eyewitness video that's not clear. The video shows officers then shot more than 20 times into Smith's car.

Gulfport police officers, Harrison County deputies and Mississippi Highway Patrol state troopers were all involved in the shooting. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation generally handles investigations of fatal shootings by police officers, but because the bureau is part of the same agency as the highway patrol, the Biloxi Police Department was tasked with investigating.

The Sun Herald reported in May that the department had gotten the results of a forensics test on the bullet that killed La'Mello. But officials wouldn't discuss the findings.

On Saturday, Biloxi Capt. Brian Dykes said the investigation is still ongoing and will be turned over to the Harrison County District Attorney's office when complete. He said he could not give an estimate as to when it could wrap up.

"There is no update," he said.

Family speaks out

La'Mello's siblings, ages 15, 14, 12 and 9, are now living with Christin's first cousin, Lashunda Parker.

The 9-year-old, a girl, witnessed her mother's killing. Lashunda Parker said she has been going to therapy. Overall, she said, the kids are doing well.

"They said I put them in the mind of their mom," she said.

Jeremy Parker said Christin was devoted to her children.

"She'd go to work and try to take care of her kids," he said.

Lashunda Parker never got to meet La'Mello in person because the family was wary of gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she saw him over FaceTime with Christin. She marveled at his chubby cheeks.

The family does not currently have an attorney, but they're hoping to hire one with support from the Coast organizations that planned Saturday's fundraiser.

Jeremy Parker doesn't believe La'Mello's father would have shot him. He wants answers from Mississippi police.

No one from Mississippi law enforcement has ever reached out to them to discuss the investigation, Lashunda and Jeremy Parker said.

"Since it's not our incident we have not talked to any one," Dykes said on Saturday.

A fundraiser in Biloxi

John Kemp of YO Gulf Coast, one of the organizers of Saturday's free-throw fundraiser, said his goal was to raise awareness for people in need, especially young people.

"You don't get much more in need than a 3-month old baby," he said.

Members of the Biloxi High School Air Force JROTC volunteered at the event.

Black Lives Matter Mississippi and the Biloxi NAACP have called for transparency around the incident, including the release of all reports and body camera and other footage of the shooting.

Leo Carney, a co-founder of Mississippi ADOS, said his organization is helping connect the family with an attorney. He also wants to see policy changes that would prevent a similar situation in the future.

"There was no regard for public safety," he said.

Jeremy Parker said the family planned to spend all the proceeds from the fundraiser to help take care of La'Mello's siblings.

The relatives who never met La'Mello hope they can get answers to their questions about why he is gone.

"Four months, we ain't heard nothing," Lashunda Parker said. "We're just waiting for justice for that baby. He didn't even get to start nothing. An angel gone back to God."

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