Johnnie Lee McDonald, 42, was fatally shot in the early hours of Monday, September 26, 2022, at the America’s Best Inn on Highway 80 in Jackson, Mississippi. Family remembered him as a good man and noted his ties to Velma Jackson schools and his employment at Bell Fence in Jackson.

Police say McDonald was confronted at the motel by a man who accused him of damaging a vehicle during an earlier incident. The encounter escalated; McDonald retreated to his car, the other man followed and fired multiple shots, and McDonald was struck in the chest. He attempted to drive away but died in his vehicle at the scene.

The Jackson Police Department identified a suspect. On September 27, 2022, 31-year-old Kentarrian Blanchard turned himself in and was charged with McDonald’s murder. A second man, Roderick Evans, was initially held on an accessory charge but later released and the charge dismissed for insufficient evidence.

Did anyone in the Jackson area see or hear anything that night at the motel?