James Charleston 1 of 2

Case # :504

Gender : Male

Age : 26

Race : Black

Date : 05/06/2023

Location : Highway 51+ Veterans Dr

City : Southaven

County : DeSoto

State : Mississippi

Agency : Southaven PD, Horn Lake PD

Officer(s) : Not Disclosed

Cause of death : Vehicle

Event : Stolen car” that was not stolen

Disposition : No Known charges

Open records summary :

Police originally said the Horn Lake Police Department was in pursuit of a stolen car that crashed on Highway 51 and Veterans Drive, killing 2. The word "stolen" has since been removed from the police post when it was learned the car was never stolen in the first place.
"The car is not stolen," said Charleston's cousin Ashley Mosley. "We have the facts." The family does not know why the car was chased since there was no theft involved. Police put down spike strips and when the car crossed them, it “exploded” into another car and caught on fire. The family said that the car owner should never have been chased as the car was owned legally by him and no crime had occurred for which two people were hunted to death.

Source links :

https://www.localmemphis.com/video/news/crime/video-shows-moments-before-a-police-chase-ends-in-a-deadly-crash-in-mississippi/522-aac9acce-184d-40de-928d-0e482b46bc34

https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/days-later-questions-remain-unanswered-in-police-car-chase-resulting-in-two-deaths/article_ba5c79dc-f4a4-11ed-a4db-3334d1d209cc.html

https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/family-looks-for-answers-after-police-chase-ends-with-two-dead-in-mississippi/article_005ac64c-ec2a-11ed-a0dd-57d5145e6882.html

https://desotocountynews.com/desoto-county-news/one-dead-another-injured-in-multi-vehicle-accident/

https://wreg.com/news/local/police-identify-two-killed-after-pursuit-ends-in-crash-in-southaven/