Two men facing attempted murder charges in Alabama are also now accused in the slaying of a man whose body was found outside a casino in Mississippi last year.
Karmelo Cortez Morris Derks, an 18-year-old from Prichard, was extradited to Mississippi and formally charged with first-degree murder on Thursday.
Derks, and another Prichard man, 19-year-old Darius Dewayne Rouser Jr., have each been wanted for murder since January when police identified them as suspects in the slaying of 36-year-old Nicholaus Craig.
Craig’s body was found last September inside a car in the parking lot of the Scarlet Pearl Casino in D’Iberville, just north of Biloxi. D’Iberville police said Craig was shot and killed in a random robbery attempt.
Craig was a resident of Baldwin Hills, Calif., but was traveling to his native Mobile when he stopped for a night at the Scarlet Pearl Resort. He died of a single gunshot wound, Harrison County coroner Brian Switzer determined.
Media reports at the time indicated casino maintenance workers heard a gunshot around 1 a.m. and reported it to casino security, who in turn called 911.
D’Iberville police attempted to aid Craig, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Derks and Rowser are also charged with attempted murder in an unrelated shootout that happened at a Mobile-area Walmart in December. Tomorion Williams was injured in that shooting.
Derks has been transferred to the Harrison County Jail in Mississippi, while Rowser remains in the Mobile Metro Jail. It is not clear when Rowser will be extradited to Mississippi to face the murder charge.
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