Murder charges have been filed against three individuals taken into custody for the fatal shooting death of 21-year-old Kenwon Tyshon Riley that occurred at Northside Park in Kosciusko late Friday night around 11:51 p.m. on April 29, 2022.
Tashey Shaniece Johnson, Michael Lecole Summers, and Aaliyah Caulisa Lusk have each been charged with murder and booked in the Leake County Correctional Facility. They have each been issued a $250,000 bond.
Last week, the Kosciusko Police Department was still searching for a fourth suspect, 20-year-old Kiara Deshay Brown of Attala County.
Kosciusko Police Chief Chris Wray said Brown was found in Pensacola, Florida and is currently being detained at the Escambia County Jail. Brown will then be extradited to Kosciusko for questioning.
“We are going to be sending an investigator down there to pick her up and bring her back,” said Wray. “We made a social media post stating that she was wanted. Someone contacted us and gave us her location, and she was picked up by the U.S. Marshals.”
Wray said the decision to issue arrest warrants for the murder suspects was based on crime scene evidence coupled with information gathered from interviews with the suspects.
Wray declined to answer how many suspects were present at the time of the murder but said the victim, Riley, was found deceased from one gunshot wound when Kosciusko police officers arrived on the scene. The chief said he believes the victim knew some of the suspects involved in the murder.
“It is my understanding that (Riley) did know some of the suspects involved,” said Wray. “It is my understanding that some of the parties involved are gang members.”
Investigators have found a motive in the shooting death but declined to reveal at this time due to remaining questioning of the fourth suspect.
Preliminary hearings for the arrested suspects will take place in the coming weeks:
Aaliyah Lusk — June 21.
Tashey Johnson — June 21.
Michael Summers — July 5.
A preliminary hearing date for Kiara Brown is pending upon her extradition back to Kosciusko and further questioning.
“Kiara will be extradited back to Kosciusko, where she will be interviewed and will receive her preliminary hearing,” said Wray.
The chief credited KPD investigators for working diligently to solve the case and thanked the Attala County Sherriff’s Office, Madison County Sherriff’s Office, district attorney’s office, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Investigators did a fantastic job on this case. This was a difficult case to work,” said Wray. “But they stayed diligent, put in long hours, and stayed late. The Madison County Sheriff's Office was a huge help in the investigation with Michael Summers because he resides in Madison County. The Attala County Sheriff's Office was a big help to us the night of the homicide in helping us secure the scene and talk to witnesses. The district attorney's office was a huge help to us and just a great tool. The U.S. Marshals also assisted us in placing Michael Summers and Kiara Brown in custody.”
In an interview with The Star-Herald, Wray addressed the community and added that the Kosciusko Police Department strived to resolve the case in a timely manner.
“I promised the victim’s family that the Kosciusko Police Department would do everything it could to get justice for Kenwon. I know that there are people in the community that were worried that the police department wasn’t doing enough, but I promise you the police department was doing everything in its power to resolve this case in a timely manner,” said Wray. “Investigators were putting in long hours and did a lot of hard work to see to it that these individuals were placed into custody. We're doing everything that we can to combat the crime in our community. The Kosciusko Police Department is here to serve the community every way possible, and I'd like to thank the community for their support.”
