An aggravated assault charge against a Yazoo County man for his connection to a November shooting has been upgraded to murder following the death of one of the victims last week.
Cornelius Johnson, 19, was pronounced dead at a local emergency room on Dec. 29, 2021. Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers said Johnson was taken to the hospital after he collapsed at his home.
“An autopsy is pending, and his cause of death has not been determined yet,” Shivers said.
William Perry, 24, was originally charged with two counts of aggravated assault after the Nov. 19, 2021 shooting. The shooting occurred on Martin Luther King Drive, near Shady Lane.
Chief Deputy Terry Gann, with the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department, said two victims, including Johnson, were injured after shots were fired into the vehicle that they were both inside near the scene. Both victims were hospitalized following the shooting.
After being taken into custody by deputies, Gann said Perry confessed to shooting inside the vehicle.
Johnson’s recent death led to one of the aggravated assault charges against Perry being upgraded to murder. The other count of aggravated assault also remains in his record.
“We feel like Johnson’s death is a result of the shooting,” Gann said.
Perry remains in the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility.
