Double-murder suspect just smiles when asked about deadly shooting
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A quick smile was the only response a double-murder suspect had when a reporter asked him if he shot and killed a young couple outside of Loper’s Laundry last October.
Ronald “Hot Boy” Buckley, 20, of Laurel was getting into a transport van to return to the Jones County Adult Detention Center after making his initial appearance in Laurel Municipal Court on Wednesday for a dozen felonies after being on the run for months.
Judge Kyle Roberston denied bond for the suspect after hearing the list of serious felonies he’s facing, including two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
District Attorney Brad Thompson told the court that Buckley is a danger to the community and has a history of fleeing from law enforcement — as evidenced by his arrest in Ohio a month after the shooting in Laurel and he had been on the lam after being wanted for a shooting in Laurel the previous summer.
Buckley is being charged with a total of 12 separate felonies, starting with the shooting of 14-year-old and 17-year-old boys in separate incidents last year in Laurel. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Buckley is also accused of conspiring with three other men to kill Montavious Barnett in June by posing as a woman online and agreeing to meet with Barnett. The shooting occurred at the 1200 block of North 4th Avenue, and reports show that Barnett was shot seven times but survived.
In October, Buckley shot Mary Ann Collins, 19, and Travion Barnett, 22 as they sat in a Dodge Charger outside of Loper’s Laundry on 10th Street, then fled on foot, LPD investigators said. An unidentified 18-year-old woman suffered a non-life-threatening leg wound. Three more people were in the car, including two babies, but they did not suffer any injuries.
Multiple reports came out of a young black man fleeing the scene wearing a red shirt with a black hoodie, and the suspect was later identified as Buckley.
In addition to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and four counts of aggravated assault, Buckley also faces charges for conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a stolen firearm, directing/or causing a youth to commit a felony, as well as several misdemeanors that have not been brought to the court yet.
Buckley was issued a court-appointed attorney after he told the judge he did not have a job and was not able to hire his own legal counsel.
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