From the Vicksburg Post

VICKSBURG — A Jackson man, who had been hospitalized in critical condition at University of Mississippi Medical Center, was arrested around 1 p.m. Sunday by Vicksburg police and charged with killing two men when the pickup he was driving collided head-on with another car, killing the two men inside it in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 5.

Vicksburg police Lt. Johnnie Edwards said Deon Jamaal Hatten, 26, 2909 Booker St., Jackson, was arrested and charged on a warrant for carjacking and two counts of first degree murder after he was discharged from UMMC, where he had been recovering from his injuries following the wreck.

Hatten is accused of taking a 2007 Lincoln MLT pickup from the Lady Luck Casino parking lot about 2:55 a.m. He later collided with a 2000 Silver Buick Regal containing Jared Develle Brinner, 30, 2501 Culkin Road, and Ron Lydell Hedrick, 32, 102 McGraw St., Pattison. The impact caused the car to burst into flames in the 300 block of Warrenton Road near USA Pawn. Both men were declared dead at the scene by Waren County Coroner Doug Huskey.

Edwards said the initial call indicated the car was stolen from Riverwalk Casino, which is adjacent to Lady Luck, but further investigation indicated the theft occurred at Lady Luck.

According to police reports, Riverwalk security officers reportedly caught Hatten disabling video cameras in the casino’s parking deck. Hatten fled, jumping from the second level of the parking garage into a wooded area, and casino security called police.

While a police officer was getting information about the vandalism at Riverwalk, Hatten pulled a woman out of the pickup at Lady Luck, and drove from the Lady Luck parking lot past the officer at a high rate of speed, went through the Riverwalk parking lot and turned north on Warrenton Road.

The officer turned on his blue lights and left the casino in an attempt to catch up with Hatten. When the officer arrived at the scene of the wreck, the car containing Brinner and Hedrick was engulfed in flames. Hatten was taken to Merit Health River Region and then transferred to UMMC.

Following his arrest Sunday, Hatten appeared Monday morning before Vicksburg Municipal Court Judge Toni Terrett, who set his bond at $3 million. Hatten was then turned over to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and remains jailed.