Neshoba County Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Shooting a Tribal Member on the Choctaw Indian Reservation

Jackson, Miss. - A Neshoba County man was sentenced to 138 months in federal prison for 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, used a handgun to shoot a tribal member, causing serious bodily injury, 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, and he pled guilty on July 18, 2024.

United States Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert 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.