Local Murder Suspect Pleads Guilty Under Project EJECT to Carjacking and Shooting at Victim During Carjacking

Local Murder Suspect Pleads Guilty Under Project EJECT to Carjacking and Shooting at Victim During Carjacking

Local Murder Suspect Pleads Guilty Under Project EJECT to Carjacking and Shooting at Victim During Carjacking

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Mississippi
14 November 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Carjacking Occurred Day After Local Judge Signed Order Releasing Defendant Charged with Murder on Bond

Jackson, Miss. – Darrell D. Moore, 22, of Clinton, pled guilty yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour, Jr. to carjacking and brandishing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Those who commit violent crime in our Capitol City and terrorize our citizens will face the full force of federal law enforcement. I commend the Jackson Police Department and the FBI for snatching this criminal off our streets and our prosecutors for getting him detained. Through their actions, others were prevented from becoming victims at the hands of this individual. Under Project EJECT, we are making our citizens safer and the City of Jackson more secure," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

On November 7, 2017, while Moore was on bond for murder in Hinds County, he, Alexus Guster, and Cedric Winfield agreed to rob and carjack a victim at gunpoint. At the instruction of Moore and Winfield, Guster lured the victim to a location where Winfield and Moore were waiting to carjack and rob him. Guster and Winfield spoke to the victim while standing at the passenger side of the vehicle. While the victim was distracted, Moore approached the driver’s side of the vehicle, pulled the victim out of the car at gunpoint, and forced him to give up his money and the vehicle. The victim then fled the scene on foot and Moore fired his gun twice in the direction of the victim. Winfield drove the car to his residence where Moore and Guster met him to search the car for valuables.

Moore faces a maximum penalty of twenty-five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his role in the carjacking and brandishing a firearm. His sentencing date will be determined by the Court. Guster and Winfield previously pled guilty to carjacking and are awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Helen Wall and Kimberly Taft Purdie.