Accused murderer arrested, facing charges in two counties after LPD chase | Free News

 A man who had previously been accused of hitting someone in the head with a baseball bat and killing them in 2015 is in double trouble after leading multiple law enforcement agencies on a two-county, 20-mile chase from Laurel to Bay Springs. After bonding out of the Jones County jail, Jermain Campbell, 40, was picked up by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department on more drug charges. 

Campbell was arrested and charged with felony fleeing in a motor vehicle and aggravated possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute after he fled from a Laurel police traffic stop and flung a two-pound bag of methamphetamine — approximately 907 grams — out the window near Popeyes on Highway 15, LPD Chief Tommy Cox said. Afterward, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department searched his home in Bay Springs and found suspected ecstasy pills and another controlled substance. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and trafficking of a controlled substance. 

Jones County and Jasper County sheriff's departments, Mississippi Highway Patrol and Bay Springs Police Department assisted the LPD in the capture of Campbell. The chase ended in Bay Springs on Highway 15 near Alexander’s hardware store after Jasper County Sheriff's Department brought the chase to an end, Cox said. 

“Jasper did a great job of deploying the stop-and-stick tire strip,” Cox said. 

Investigators were attempting to arrest the suspected drug suspect in North Laurel, Cox said, and the pursuit began around noon. 

“Near 32nd and Greenwood, an officer attempted to make contact with the driver, and he took off, leading them on a chase through North Laurel,” Cox said. 

The chase soon moved into the county on Flynt Road to Springhill Road with Jones County Sheriff's Department moving in to intercept around Sandy Lane. 

Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin and Deputy Chief Mitch Sumrall were also involved in the pursuit. 

“Thankfully, the pursuit was brought to a safe conclusion and with the suspect facing charges,” Berlin said. 

Jasper County was notified when the chase reached county lines, and a Jasper County Sheriff's deputy joined the pursuit, Sheriff Randy Johnson said. 

“They put the stop-stick out on Highway 15, and he stopped about a mile afterward with no problem,” Johnson said. “After the chase and getting consent to serve a search warrant at his home in Jasper County, the sheriff's department found a lot of drugs at his residence.” 

They recovered 217 ecstasy pills and 70 other pills consisting of hydrocodone at Campbell's home in Jasper County. Narcotics agents there had been looking into him for a while, sources with knowledge of the case said. Campbell’s bond was set Tuesday at $55,000 — $50,000 for trafficking and $5,000 for fleeing in a motor vehicle — in Jones County Justice Court. He made his initial appearance Friday in Jasper County and was denied bond. 

Campbell’s record includes an aggravated assault in 2015 in which he was accused of hitting 23-year-old Demond Hughes with a baseball bat. Hughes was found at the VA softball fields in Jackson and transported to University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries. After Hughes’ death, Campbell was charged with murder. It is not known how or if the case has been resolved.

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