SOMERVILLE, TN (abc24.com) - He's the most wanted man in the Mid-South, armed and very dangerous. Cops thought they were close to grabbing Rico Fleming Monday, January 2nd, but he's still on the run.
Fleming's face should be familiar by now. He's wanted for the Christmas Day drive-by shooting and murder of a 16-year-old Memphis girl.
Police have arrested two others for the crime, including a 16 year old.
After more than a week of searching, cops are checking out each and every lead. Monday morning a possible sighting in Fayette County, Tennessee brought deputies up from Mississippi to hunt for Fleming.
Someone reported seeing Fleming driving north on Highway 76 near Somerville. Mississippi deputies, Tennessee state troopers, Somerville Police and U.S. Marshals came running, but it was a false alarm.
"They need to put him in jail," said Adam Norwood. "Hope they catch him and I hope they throw the book at him, that he doesn't ever get out."
The 22-year old is from Moscow, Tennessee, just a short drive from where he was reportedly seen. Now he could be anywhere.
"I have brothers and sisters who live out here and I'm about to have a baby," said Somerville resident Dakota Booth. "I don't want him around."
"He is very dangerous," said Kelly McMillen with the Marshall County Sheriff's Department.
Fleming is charged with murder and multiple counts of drive by shooting that killed 16-year-old Derica Patterson Christmas morning.
After pursuing Fleming around the clock through Christmas and New Year's, the search seems far from over.
"We've been out working numerous hours," McMillen said. "We haven't had a Christmas. We haven't spent anytime with our families, and that's part of the job. It's what we do on a daily basis when it requires us to do that."
