Three men deemed as persons of interest have been taken into custody for the shooting death of one local man.
Several deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department were canvassing Tampa Drive through a traffic stop Monday afternoon as they were following leads on the death of 52-year-old Kenneth Mason.
Late Monday, the maroon Chevy Trailblazer Mason had been driving was found during the traffic stop. The three males in the SUV were taken into custody by the Washington County Sheriff's Department and are being questioned as suspects in the case, Barber said.
The names of the three men had not been released by press time Tuesday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff Deputy Billy Barber said three men were still in custody at the Washington County Correctional Facility as persons of interest.
“They will be officially charged later today,” Barber said Tuesday afternoon. More information was not available by press time.
Shortly after noon Wednesday, Oct. 21, the sheriff’s office received a call from someone reporting a white male, who was later identified as Mason, 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 flown 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, according to Barber.
“We believe that due to the fact that the vehicle was taken from the scene that he should have been in, by the vehicle being gone and other personal items that were gone, we are treating it as a homicide and possible robbery,” Barber said Monday afternoon.
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.
Anyone with further information about this case should call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 662-334-4523.
