Chauncey Armstrong, 36, was shot and killed in broad daylight on Kennedy Street in Coffeeville, Mississippi, at about 3:30 p.m. on March 30, 2023. The Coffeeville Police Department and the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department opened an immediate investigation after the shooting, and tips from the public helped identify three suspects who were arrested within hours of the attack.

Zavion Spearman surrendered to police the night of the shooting. His cousins, Anthony Spearman and Lakedrick Spearman, were taken into custody later that evening and early the next morning. All three were initially charged with first-degree murder; indictment papers later brought charges of first-degree murder by deliberate design and conspiracy to commit murder against Anthony and Zavion Spearman, and the same charges against Lakedrick Spearman.

The case moved through plea negotiations: Lakedrick Spearman pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Anthony and Zavion Spearman accepted plea agreements to manslaughter, and Anthony Lavell Spearman Jr. was identified as the shooter and received a 20-year prison sentence. The family and community lost a well-known local figure; anyone with information about Chauncey Armstrong or the events that day is asked to come forward.