Tracey Coleman Sr., 49, was found mortally wounded in a bedroom at 2005 Oakhurst Drive in Jackson in the early morning hours of December 23, 2014. He had been shot in the upper torso and died at the scene. Neighbors reported patrol cars and crime-scene tape as investigators documented the bedroom and began interviewing family members.

Detectives quickly focused on one of Coleman Sr.’s sons, 21-year-old Tracey Coleman Jr., after witnesses described a fight in the home in which the father was allegedly striking a younger son with a stick and the older brother intervened. A shot was fired during the confrontation and witnesses saw a red Dodge Durango leave the area. A murder warrant for Coleman Jr. was issued the same day.

On December 24 a separate shooting and theft of a red Chevrolet Camaro in Jackson was linked by police to the same suspect. Coleman Jr. was arrested in a stolen Camaro in Missouri on December 25; police said he had committed additional armed robberies while traveling. Upon extradition he was charged in Jackson with murder, aggravated assault and auto theft. The defense acknowledged he fired the weapon but said he did so to defend his younger brother; a judge denied bond.