Three Mississippi Brothers Face Separate Charges in String of Violent Crimes
Article excerpt
Within days of each other, three brothers in Mississippi stand accused of crimes that have left two elderly people dead and a deputy sheriff who authorities say will likely never walk again. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has confirmed the familial connection between the suspects, a detail that turned what might have been two separate local tragedies into something harder to look away from. A teenage brother faces murder charges in the deaths of the elderly couple. His two siblings are charged in connection with the shooting of a deputy so severely injured that police say he will not recover the ability to walk. The cases unfolded in rapid succession, and investigators linked them through the shared family tie. The deputy's prognosis is the detail that crystallizes the human cost here: a law enforcement officer, shot in the line of duty, facing permanent disability. Mississippi communities rarely see unrelated serious violent crimes spiral out of a single household this quickly, and the state's public safety officials have not shied away from making the family connection explicit in their public statements.
The two brothers of a Mississippi teen accused of killing an elderly couple allegedly attempted to gun down a sheriff's deputy, who police said will "never walk again," in a separate incident just days later.
Cordarius Hobbs, 17, allegedly broke into the home of 74-year-old Billy Blair and his 71-year-old wife Virginia Carol Blair on June 3 in Mendenhall, Mississippi, and killed them, WLBT reported.
Just days later, on June 8, Cordarius Hobbs' brothers, Cortavious and Cortavion Hobbs, allegedly tried to kill a Covington County, Mississippi, deputy. Covington County Chief Deputy Sheriff Ricky Lott told Fox News Digital the two men fled from deputies after a traffic stop that led to both Cortavious and Cortavion allegedly firing their weapons.
All three people are brothers, Mississippi Department of Public Safety Media and Public Relations Specialist Bailey Martin told Fox News Digital.
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Lott said Cortavious and Cortavion were initially pulled over by Deputy Yates Rodney for a seat belt violation, saying the suspects were initially "cordial, friendly and light-hearted," adding the two men were coming back from a fishing trip.
The deputy sheriff also said that Cortavious and Cortavion had marijuana in the car, stating that Yates could see a blunt inside. When he questioned Cortavious and Cortavion about the drugs, Lott said the situation began getting tense.
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A 2-to-3-mile-long high-speed chase ended when the driver got stuck in the mud, Lott said, adding that Rodney was shot in his shoulder. The deputy sheriff said the doctor told Rodney that he "will never walk again," saying the bullet nicked his lungs and spine.
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Lott said Rodney has only been with the agency for around six months and recently got married. A GoFundMe set up for the injured deputy states that he "faces a long and challenging road to recovery."
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The deputy sheriff said Cortavious and Cortavion both have juvenile criminal records but couldn't give any more details.
Cortavious and Cortavion were charged with attempted capital murder and hindering prosecution, and Cortavion is also charged with felony fleeing.
The shooting happened just days after the suspects' brother, Cordarius, allegedly killed Billy and Virginia Blair. Deputies with the Simpson County Sheriff's Office were called to the couple's home at around 12:24 p.m. on June 3 after family members couldn't reach the couple. Once at the house, according to officials, the deputies were met with gunfire.
Cordarius is charged with two counts of capital murder, one count of burglary, four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and two counts of aggravated assault over 65 years old.