Driver charged: Carriere man charged in Wednesday hit & run

Published 9:13 am Friday, October 30, 2015

Pearl River County Sheriff’s investigators are still looking into the details of the discovery of a body on Caesar Road Wednesday, but one man is in custody.

Chief Investigator Marc Ogden said John Weems, 31, of 114 Holloway Road in Carriere is in jail on a $18,000 bond. He is charged with leaving the scene of an accident, which is a felony.

Wednesday afternoon, sheriff’s deputies were alerted about a body lying in the grass off Caesar Road.

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Deputy County Coroner Albert Lee identified the body as belonging to Sharlz Swan, 41.

Ogden said authorities are still not certain what happened, the cause of death has not yet been determined and it is possible the incident is not a hit-and-run.

“This is still an ongoing investigation,” Ogden said. “We’re still looking into everything. We still have some questions we need answered. It’s a possible hit and run, but we’re not saying it is a hit and run.”

Sheriff’s investigators took Weems’ truck as evidence, and Ogden said the Mississippi Crime Lab has the truck and it analyzing it.

The state’s pathologist will perform an autopsy on Swan’s body and that should yield some definitive answers.

“Hopefully well be able to answer some of those questions in the next two or three weeks,” said Ogden.

 

By Jesse Wright and Cassandra Favre.