3 teens accused of carjacking, murder in death of Southern Miss football player MJ Daniels

Margaret Baker
·2 min read
2

Hattiesburg police have arrested three people, charging each with attempted carjacking and murder in the killing of Southern Miss football star and Lucedale native Marcus “MJ” Daniels Jr.

Daniels was found dead in his car Tuesday night outside the Ivy Row apartment complex in the 200 block of Ivy Row Circle in Hattiesburg.

Hattiesburg police identified those arrested, including two juveniles charged as adults for the crimes. The suspects are:

  • Orlando May, 18, of Hattiesburg, who was arrested on one count each of capital murder, attempted carjacking, felony eluding and two counts of grand larceny auto.

  • Allen Marcus Gardner, 17, of Houston, Texas, who was arrested on one count each of capital murder and attempted carjacking.

  • Samir Green, 16, of Hattiesburg, who was arrested and charged as an adult with one count of capital murder and attempted carjacking.

Daniels was found dead in his car of a gunshot wound at 10:04 p.m. Tuesday, Forrest County coroner Lisa Klem said. Hattiesburg police had responded to a report of a shooting at the apartment complex around 9 p.m. Tuesday.

After the killing, Hattiesburg police reached out to the public for tips.

“The University of Southern Mississippi and the Department of Athletics mourn the loss of M.J. Daniels, whose life was lost Tuesday evening during an incident that occurred off campus,” a statement from USM said. “We send our sincere condolences to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”

Daniels graduated from George County High School in 2021 before enrolling at Ole Miss as a defensive back. He transferred to USM ahead of the 2023 season where he appeared in all 12 games, recording 28 tackles and three interceptions.

“He loved life, always had a smile on his face, always fun to be around, loved football dearly,” GC head coach James Ray told the Sun Herald earlier in the week.

Ray coached Daniels for four years — three as his defensive coordinator and one has his head coach. “It breaks my heart to hear of this. Great guy, great teammate, great football player, and will be dearly missed. I love this guy.

“He would come to my house and hang out, even when he was at Ole Miss and even when he was at Southern. Just devastated and heartbroken about what we heard today.”

Scott Watkins contributed to this report.