Wilkinson County deputies responding to a home along Pond Pinckneyville Road earlier this month found one person dead and ultimately arrested a Woodville man on murder and aggravated assault charges. Authorities say the shooting grew out of a domestic argument among people inside the home that escalated into gunfire. The victim, reportedly identified as 33-year-old Dalvin Anderson of Woodville, was killed, while a second person was shot and rushed to a hospital across the state line in Louisiana. The accused shooter, 26-year-old Gregory Groom, also of Woodville, was later extradited back to Mississippi to face the charges.
Argument Turns Deadly on Pond Pinckneyville Road
According to WBRZ, which cited an account first published by the Woodville Republican, deputies arrived to find people inside the home in the middle of a heated dispute. Groom reportedly pulled out a gun during the argument and fired several shots at Anderson. Deputies found Anderson dead at the scene when they arrived.
The wounded second victim was taken to a hospital in St. Francisville, Louisiana, the report noted. Woodville sits roughly 25 to 26 miles north of St. Francisville, according to the Mississippi Encyclopedia, making West Feliciana Parish's hospital and detention facilities the closest options for residents of southwestern Wilkinson County. The encyclopedia notes that Wilkinson County shares its entire southern border with the Louisiana parish.
Booked in Louisiana, Then Extradited Back to Mississippi
Groom was reportedly arrested and booked into the West Feliciana Parish Detention Center in St. Francisville before he was extradited to Wilkinson County. The facility, run by the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office, has a maximum capacity of 39 male offenders and routinely holds pretrial detainees and out-of-state fugitives awaiting extradition. Interstate extradition between Louisiana and Mississippi is governed by the U.S. Constitution and federal law, according to FindLaw, requiring formal coordination between the two states' governors unless the detainee waives the process. It remains unclear whether Groom waived formal extradition proceedings or was returned to Mississippi under a governor's warrant.
Woodville, incorporated in 1811, had a population of 928 as of the 2020 census, according to Wikipedia, while Wilkinson County as a whole counts an estimated 7,300 residents spread across 688 square miles, per World Population Review. The rural county has seen its population steadily decline over recent decades, per the same estimate.
Murder and Aggravated Assault Charges Carry Steep Penalties
If convicted of murder, Groom faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-21, according to the Daily Mississippian. State law strictly separates sentencing between capital, first-degree, and second-degree murder, the outlet notes.
The aggravated assault charge tied to the second gunshot victim carries its own exposure. Under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-7, a conviction for aggravated assault - attempting or causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon - carries up to 20 years in state prison, per FindLaw. The same statute distinguishes misdemeanor simple assault from felony aggravated domestic violence when a deadly weapon is used against a romantic partner or household member, though authorities have not detailed the exact relationship between Groom, Anderson, and the other people who were inside the home that day.
Community Raises Funds for Anderson's Family
In the wake of the shooting, community members organized a fundraising effort to help Anderson's family cover burial costs, directing donations to D. Rollins Funeral Home in Woodville, according to posts shared on Facebook. Anderson was a former student at Wilkinson County High School, and his family requested public support for funeral expenses. Local coverage of the case has largely come from the Woodville Republican, a weekly paper established in 1823 that is documented as the oldest continuously operating newspaper and business in Mississippi, according to the Mississippi Encyclopedia. The paper has been owned and published by the Lewis family since 1879, per the same source.
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