Neshoba County Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting a Tribal Member on the Choctaw Indian Reservation

Jackson, Miss. – A Neshoba County man pled guilty to assault with intent to do bodily harm and use of a firearm during a crime of violence on the Choctaw Indian Reservation.

According to court documents, in September 2022, Jessie James Clay, Jr., 42, shot a tribal member at a residence in the Pearl River Community of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.  Clay was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023.

Clay is scheduled to be sentenced on October 18, 2024, and faces not less than ten years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The Choctaw Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin J. Payne and Brian K. Burns prosecuted the case.