The three men charged with capital murder for the shooting death of Kenneth Mason have each been handed $5 million bonds this week.
Eighteen-year-old Donnell Corbin and 20-year-old Devonte Jones, both of Greenville, and 21-year-old Fredrick Pearson Jr., of Indianola, were handed a $5 million bond each Wednesday.
The three men were arrested Monday when several deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department were canvassing Tampa Drive through a traffic stop Monday afternoon while following leads on the death of Mason, who was 52.
Corbin, Jones and Pearson were found in the maroon Chevy Trailblazer that Mason had been driving. After being arrested, they were all taken into custody to be questioned, Sheriff's Deputy Billy Barber said.
All three men remain in custody at the Washington County Correctional Facility.
Shortly after noon Wednesday, Oct. 21, the sheriff’s office received a call from someone reporting a white male, later identified as Mason, who was found unresponsive on the ground in the 200 block of Blaylock Road in the Winterville area.
Mason appeared to have received multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was sent to Jackson for an autopsy, where it was confirmed he died from the gunshots.
The Chevy Trailblazer Mason was driving, as well as other personal items, was also missing from the scene, which led officials to believe it was a homicide and robbery, according to Barber.
Mason was the co-founder of the New York-based nonprofit Stop Abuse Campaign that seeks to help prevent child sexual abuse and neglect.
A Mississippi native, Mason moved back to Greenville from New York in March after the coronavirus pandemic began.
This is not the first time Pearson has been charged with murder.
In 2017, Pearson, then 17, along with three other men, was charged with murder in the death of Greenville resident Lorenzo Edwards.
His bond was set at $1 million at the time, but it is not clear if Pearson has been to court for that case.
