GULFPORT, Miss. �� A man suspected of killing a woman and her two grandsons in a Sacramento, Calif., housing project last year was arrested in Biloxi, Miss., on panhandling charges before police linked him to the Sacramento crimes.
Jerod Michael Watson of Sacramento, was taken into custody about 3 p.m. Friday, Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said. Miller said officers assigned to the police department's nuisance detail responded to a complaint near a post office in East Biloxi. The detail's officers are familiar with the homeless community in Biloxi, and Miller said the officers believed Watson was panhandling.
"They confronted him. He lied about his identity at first, but they learned he was wanted out of Sacramento," Miller said. Investigators found that Watson was listed on the National Crime Information Center database, suspected of killing three people.
In October, Sacramento police named Watson as a suspect in the deaths of Christine "Tina" Lucas and her two grandsons, Marquise Brown and James R. Ferrell. The three were found dead in an apartment in Sacramento's Land Park neighborhood.
All the victims were stabbed or slashed to death, the Sacramento County coroner reported.
Police said Watson was a family friend and ex-boyfriend of Twanna Lucas, the mother of Ferrell and Brown, who found her sons' and mother's bodies in the apartment. Sacramento court records showed that Watson had a history of domestic violence charges.
Warning that Watson was armed and dangerous, police said at the time that he might have fled to Nevada. Nothing was heard of him until Friday.
Miller said it was unlikely that Watson had been in the Biloxi area for long.
"We have guys on the nuisance detail out every day. They know this guy isn't from around here. How he wound up here, I don't know." Miller said.
Watson will be held at the Harrison County jail in Mississippi without bail until he can be extradited to Sacramento, authorities said.
"He's a dangerous guy. I'm glad he's off the street. It's some good solid work from the public and our guys," Miller said.
Officer Linda Matthew, Sacramento police spokeswoman, said the department had been notified by Biloxi police of Watson's arrest.
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(Cathy Locke, Bill Lindelof, Ryan Lillis and Hudson Sangree of the Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.)
