ROSSVILLE, TN (abc24.com) - Day 12, making it nearly two weeks on the run. Fugitive Rico Fleming has eluded police since Christmas Day. Fleming is the third suspect charged in a drive-by shooting that killed a 16-year-old Memphis girl. Two others are already in jail for the crime.
The three guys are all different ages. One is a teenager, another in his 20's and one in his 30's. They all live in Fayette County and investigators believe they may share one common interest: gang involvement.
"They've got their own little area, their own little neighborhood," said Ross Young.
Young grew up around Rossville, Tennessee. Gangs, he said, weren't around in his day. He doesn't like to think about them being in town now.
"I try not to. Why would you think about a bad thing?" he asked.
Investigators with the Marshall County Sheriff's Department believe gang activity had a lot to do with the Christmas Day drive-by murder of 16-year-old Derica Patterson.
"We learned some of that during the investigation," said Kelly McMillen, one of the lead investigators on the case. "We heard and have interviewed people and taken statements gangs are possibly involved."
Deputies have two men in custody.
16-year-old Christopher Collins is charged as an adult, held on a $50,000 bond.
31-year-old Corey Albright is in custody on a million dollar bond.
Deputies are still after 22-year-old Rico Fleming, who's been on the run since the shooting.
All three men are from Fayette County, living within a few miles of each other in Rossville and Moscow.
No one in their hometowns wanted to talk on camera, but the three men were often seen together.
A few neighbors worried 16-year-old Collins got in over his head with Fleming and Albright, saying they wouldn't be surprised if the two were in a gang. It's a theory investigators support.
"Our belief is it had a lot to do with it," McMillen said.
Fleming is one of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Top 10 Most Wanted fugitives. There is a $1,000 reward for his capture and conviction. If you know where Rico Fleming is, call 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3463).
