Jackson, Miss - Christopher E. Lemon, age 37, of Carthage, was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves to a term of 480 months in federal prison for second degree murder, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Christopher Freeze, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Christopher Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the National Park Service- Investigative Services Branch.
On July 3, 2014, Lemon was riding in a car with a co-worker on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Leake County, Mississippi. Lemon had stolen a firearm from their employer’s store before getting into the vehicle with the victim. While inside the vehicle, Lemon shot the victim five times in the chest and leg, leaving her in the backseat of her vehicle. She was later found by a National Park Service ranger dead at the scene.
A federal grand jury indicted Lemon on Sept. 20, 2016, charging him with Murder in the Second Degree, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, Stealing a Firearm and Use of a Firearm in Relation to a Crime of Violence. On September 6, 2017, Lemon appeared before U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves and pled guilty to Murder in the Second Degree. This charge carries a penalty of any number of years and up to life in prison, 5 years of supervised release, and $250,000.00 fine.
Lemon’s sentenced of 480 months of imprisonment will be immediately followed by a 5 year term of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,269.34 to the Office of Attorney General- Crime Victim Compensation Fund.
This case was investigated by the National Park Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Leake County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Candace Mayberry and Mary Helen Wall.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
