Fa’Darius Davon Williams fled the scene of the shooting Friday at a downtown Ocean Springs restaurant and bar to get treatment for an injury to his hand at Merit Health in Biloxi, police told the Sun Herald.
From there, Ocean Springs Police Capt. Ryan LeMaire said, Williams was transferred to University Hospital in Mobile for further treatment, but soon Mississippi authorities had identified him as the alleged gunman in the May 5 shooting at The Scratch Kitchen on Government Street.
Ocean Springs police officers contacted Mobile police, who took Williams into custody. He is currently held at the Mobile Metro Jail pending a virtual extradition hearing tentatively set at 8 or 8:30 a.m. Friday in Alabama.
If Williams waives extradition, he will transported back to Mississippi as early as Friday afternoon to face a charge of first-degree murder for the alleged shooting death of Chayse Harmon, 19.
An ongoing investigation
Williams is expected to face additional charges of aggravated assault in connection with injuries to six others injured in the mass shooting during an Cinco de Mayo party at the Scratch Kitchen that was attended by more than 200 people.
Since the shooting, Ocean Springs police officers have been working non-stop collecting evidence and interviewing various witnesses, LeMaire said, and have been working with area gang investigators to verify the alleged shooter’s gang affiliation.
Police believe Williams was affiliated with either the Wicked street gang or Guap Gang Empire.
The two gangs are known to be involved in alleged gun and drug sales and operate across the Mississippi Coast.
Mass shooting suspect has criminal history
Long before the Ocean Springs shooting, Williams had been in and out of trouble in various run-ins with authorities dating back to as early as 2018.
His prior arrest records included charges of felony charges for aggravated assault, possession of marijuana and possession of a stolen firearm, among other charges.
In August 2018, Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrested Williams on two counts of aggravated assault in a shooting that left two injured.
Authorities said then that the arrest occurred after deputies responded to a report of a shooting at Bridge Water Park Apartments on Big Ridge Road in St. Martin.
A witness told authorities Williams had gotten into a fight with someone before Williams allegedly pulled out a gun and started shooting, resulting in injuries to two people.
A Jackson County grand jury later indicted Williams on felony charges of possession of marijuana and possession of a stolen firearm, identified in court records as a rifle.
Williams later pleaded guilty to both the firearms and drug charge and received probation for the offenses.
Once he completed the terms of his probation in January, Judge Kathy King Jackson dismissed the drug and gun charges against him as part of the plea agreement in that case.
Records also show that Williams has lived in and around Jackson County, mostly at a Vancleave address though he also has an address in Atmore, Alabama. The Alabama address is used in the booking information currently on file at the Mobile Metro Jail.
This story was originally published May 11, 2023 7:00 AM.
