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Martin "Captain" Luther Bowman III

Age : 80

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 08/30/2021

Location : 4100 block Kelly Road

City : Pearlington

County : Hancock

State : Mississippi

Agency : Hancock County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police after homicide

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/30/2021, at approximately 5:00 a.m., the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a shooting at an elevated residence in the 4100 block of Kelly Road in the Pearlington community. The incident occurred as Hurricane Ida was producing tropical-storm-force winds, heavy rain and severe flooding across the area. Deputies could not reach the residence normally because floodwaters surrounded the property and were reportedly as deep as nine feet in some areas, forcing deputies to approach the scene by boat.
The shooting victim was 65-year-old George Hobart Shaw, who owned the Kelly Road residence. Eighty-year-old Martin Luther Bowman III lived at the home with Shaw. Bowman was well known locally by the nickname “Captain Foo” or “The Captain.” Authorities alleged that Bowman shot Shaw during the early-morning hours. Shaw suffered a fatal gunshot wound.
After deputies reached the flooded property, they attempted to make contact with Bowman. Contemporary reporting described what followed as a standoff. Hancock County Chief Deputy Jeremy Skinner said deputies made contact with Bowman and gunfire followed. Later reporting described the incident as an exchange of gunfire, but the publicly available accounts located for this update do not provide a detailed shot-by-shot reconstruction establishing who fired first, how many deputies fired, how many rounds were discharged, or exactly what Bowman was doing immediately before deputies opened fire.
Hancock County deputies shot Bowman at approximately 9:00 a.m., roughly four hours after the initial reported shooting. Bowman died shortly afterward from gunshot wounds. Deputies then found Shaw dead from a gunshot wound. Both bodies were transported to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office in Biloxi for autopsies.
The unusual circumstances of Hurricane Ida significantly complicated the emergency response. Deputies had to conduct the homicide investigation and confrontation while the area was inundated by floodwaters, and witnesses near the scene were subsequently evacuated by boat.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation assumed responsibility for investigating the deputies' fatal use of force, while the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office separately investigated Shaw’s death. The District Attorney’s Office also participated in the independent review of Bowman's killing.
The shooting was ultimately presented to a Hancock County grand jury. On 06/08/2022, the grand jury issued its report and found no criminal conduct by the Hancock County deputies involved in killing Bowman. The grand jury concluded that no further action was warranted, and no deputies were criminally charged.
The names of the deputies who fired at Bowman remain absent from the contemporary reporting, subsequent grand-jury coverage and other publicly indexed records located during this update.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://darkhorsepressnow.com/4544-2/
https://www.wlox.com/2021/09/01/80-year-old-man-reportedly-killed-roommate-before-fatal-deputy-involved-shooting-say-authorities/
https://www.wxxv25.com/hancock-county-investigating-shooting-death-in-pearlington/
https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/crime/article253914508.html
https://www.wlox.com/2022/06/09/hancock-county-deputies-cleared-deputy-involved-shooting/
https://www.wxxv25.com/hancock-county-grand-jury-clears-deputies-in-shooting-during-hurricane-ida/
https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/crime/article262342687.html