A shooting in Ellisville, Mississippi, late Sunday night claimed the life of a 31-year-old man and led to the arrest of a suspect who was later found dead in his jail cell just hours after being booked.
Henry Hamilton Jr., of Bay Springs, was shot just before midnight on March 16, 2026, outside the Millennium Inn on Highway 29. Ellisville Police officers responded to the scene at approximately 11:37 p.m., where they found Hamilton suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, located about four feet from the motel entrance. Jones County Coroner Burl Hall pronounced him dead at the scene.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video, which became a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation. According to Ellisville Police Investigator Kyle Pickett, the footage shows Hamilton walking toward the motel entrance when a man rounds a corner and fires multiple rounds at close range. After shooting Hamilton, the suspect briefly approached another hotel guest before fleeing the area.
The suspect was quickly identified as 21-year-old Nehemiah Rice of Braddock, Pennsylvania. Police arrested Rice at approximately 11:48 p.m. at a nearby Clark’s gas station, just minutes after the shooting. He was booked into the Jones County Adult Detention Center at 1:33 a.m. on March 17 on a murder charge. Witnesses told investigators that Rice was in town for work and that there appeared to be no prior connection between him and Hamilton. Officials have not yet disclosed a possible motive for the shooting.
The case took an unexpected turn just hours after Rice’s arrest. According to a statement from Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin, an Ellisville Police Department investigator interrogated Rice in an interview room at the jail between approximately 2:48 a.m. and 2:58 a.m., after which Rice was returned to his cell.
At approximately 3:21 a.m., corrections officers found Rice unresponsive during a cell check. Jail personnel immediately initiated life-saving measures, including CPR and the administration of nasal Narcan, while waiting for emergency medical responders. EMServ Ambulance Service transported Rice to South Central Regional Medical Center at around 3:45 a.m., where he was later pronounced deceased. Rice had been in custody for less than two hours when he was discovered unresponsive.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has been contacted to conduct an independent inquiry into the in-custody death, which is standard procedure when an inmate dies in the care of officers. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause and manner of death. Authorities have not indicated whether foul play, a medical emergency, or other factors are suspected.
Meanwhile, the homicide investigation into Hamilton’s death remains active. With the primary suspect now deceased, authorities have not yet clarified how the case will proceed or whether additional individuals could face charges. The Jones County Sheriff’s Office and Ellisville Police Department continue to piece together the full sequence of events, relying on surveillance footage and witness accounts to provide answers to Hamilton’s grieving family and community.