Belhaven shooting victim dies, two of three suspects caught

Two men are in custody and a third is wanted in the death of Carolyn Temple, a Jackson woman who was shot last week and died Monday night.

Antreal Jones and Jerome Moore, both 17, were arrested after a standoff with police at McDowell Road and Woodside Drive. They were initially suspected in at least one carjacking, but police suspected they were involved in the January 7 incident on Euclid Street when Temple was robbed and shot. She died of her injuries Monday night.

Jones and Moore have both been charged with capital murder and armed carjacking. A third suspect in Temple's death has been identified as Antwain Dukes, 16. A capital murder warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Carolyn Temple was shot in the stomach last week just after she arrived at the Belhaven home of her boyfriend, Conner McAllister. She had gone to the street to bring up the garbage cans from the curb when she was attacked by two men who attempted to take her purse. When she resisted, they hit her in the head with the gun and then shot her.

On Monday night, Temple's daughter, Tress Gardner, posted on Facebook that her mother had died. She asked for prayers as her family faces her mother's death, especially in the case of her twin boys who have lost their grandmother.

"On behalf of my mom and my dad, I just wanted to thank everyone for the love, prayers, thoughts, calls, visits, etc...," she wrote. "My mom put up a hell of a fight and I am so very proud of her. She was so tired, and I know she is no longer hurting and is at peace. Please keep my family in your prayers as we face the ordeal of a homicide investigation. The twins are going to be the ones who need the most support right now. Again, I can not thank you all enough. I love you Mom."

McAllister, who was grief-stricken on Tuesday morning, said Temple died when she aspirated while taking a pill. He said she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known.

"She sucked the air out of a room when she walked into it. She was gregarious, she was funny. The best time she wanted to have was sit here in my library in front of the fireplace having a drink and talking. We went out maybe twice a week to dinner, she was just a wonderful person," he said.

His voice cracked with emotion as he said, "I can't tell you anymore about her right now. I don't know why they let her die in the ICU. They gave her a pill and didn't watch her take it."

Gardner said the doctor told her that after Temple flatlined, they worked to resuscitate her for about 30 minutes. She was declared dead at 9:21 p.m. Monday.

McAllister said he heard gunshots while he was standing at the stove, cooking dinner for Temple. He went outside to see what happened and saw the two men running down the street, and he heard one of them say something about leaving before the police got there.

"Literally, she was talking one minute and flatlined the next," Gardner said.

The car, a maroon Impala identified by a neighbor, had the doors standing open with the dome light turned off, and there was a driver in the getaway car. The two men were wearing large pants and large coats, as well as hats and tennis shoes, according to McAllister.

He heard Temple call his name, and he found her lying in the driveway. He was worried she'd been shot in the head because of the gash in her forehead from where she'd been hit with the gun, and she had also been shot in the stomach. McAllister said he covered her with a blanket and waited on the ambulance.

McAllister said he doesn't remember if police took a statement from him Wednesday night after the shooting, but that they haven't been back to talk to him since he talked to them at the hospital. He said he'd been told they were asking questions about him, though.

He said he heard from a friend about Temple's death as he was watching the National Championship football game.

"He said, 'Conner, Carolyn's passed away,'" McAllister said. "I couldn't understand after that. It was just, people started coming over here."

Temple's purse was discovered on the I-55 Frontage Road near Montrose Saturday by a runner in the Mississippi Blues Marathon. Her car keys and belongings were still in the purse, but her wallet was gone.

Police said they hoped they'd be able to pull prints from the purse to possibly be able to identify suspects.

Anyone with information on the shooting of Carolyn Temple is asked to call Jackson Police Department at (601) 960-1234, or CrimeStoppers at (601) 355-TIPS (8477).

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com, or (601) 961-7236. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.