Investigation Into Burned Mississippi Teen Case Leads To 17 Indictments – Multiple SWAT Teams Unite For ‘Operation Bite Back’ To Round Up Gang Members


Investigation into the burned Mississippi teen case has led to the indictments and arrests of more than a dozen suspects. Multiple SWAT teams united for “Operation Bite Back” to round up several suspected gang members.

The investigation into the murder of a teenage girl, who was set on fire and left to die on the road, has led to the indictment of 17 people on multiple state and federal charges. Mississippi agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that it was the Panola County investigation into the death of a 19-year-old teen, which led to several separate investigations and arrests of suspected gang members, reported The Cubic Lane. Unfortunately, despite the 17 indictments and nine arrests, so far there have been “zero answers” about the killing of Jessica Chambers, a young Mississippi teen who was burned alive a year ago and left to die.

The FBI confirmed that the 17 suspected gang members have been charged in north Mississippi as a part of a major operation called “Operation Bite Back.” Officials added that the operation primarily focuses on Panola County and is a byproduct of the deep investigation that has come through the probe into the death of Chambers, reported News Oxy.

Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby clarified that Tuesday’s arrests are not directly related to Chambers’ death. However, the arrests were a result of extensive investigations related to the case that brought forth information about illegal activities in the region. Authorities had painstakingly interviewed more than 150 people and analyzed more than 20,000 phone records in a desperate attempt to find Chambers’ killers, reported New York Daily News.

Many were concerned that the case may go cold, but the arrests have ensured the public that the investigation is ongoing. However, since the arrests may not include Chambers’ killers, many are concerned that the case still technically remains “cold”. Speaking about the case, District Attorney John Champion said,

“It’s taken eight or nine months if not a little longer to get to this point. And this is not over by any stretch of the imagination.”

Nineteen-year-old Jessica Chambers was murdered on murdered on December 6, 2014 in Courtland. Just after 8 p.m., some unknown assailants poured gasoline over Chambers and set her on fire after forcing her into her car, which was parked next to the gate to private land, on a road in northern Mississippi, about 65 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The blaze did not kill Chambers, who managed to crawl out of her burning car. She was found on the road with burns over most of her body. Chambers died hours later of extensive burns at a hospital in Memphis. The gruesome murder caught the nation’s attention and there were increasing demands to speed up investigation of the Mississippi teen case, which is being treated as a homicide.

Forensic analysis tests that were conducted on Chambers’ car are still pending results, but Chambers died because she was burned on more than 90 percent of her body. Incidentally, reports indicate that Chambers did attempt to inform first responders about her killers.

Incidentally, it was the burned Mississippi teen case that highlighted the booming illegal activity and eventually resulted in the indictments and arrests, confirmed Jason Pack of the FBI who added that “Operation Bite Back” was a necessity. Some of the charges levied during the indictments and arrests, include child endangerment, possession of stolen firearms, narcotics sales and felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of counterfeit currency. The arrested suspects belong to some of the notorious gangs like Black Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, and Sipp Mob street gangs, reported USA Today.

The investigation into the Mississippi teen case has seen SWAT teams from the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics teaming up with three FBI SWAT teams in Panola County to make the nine arrests under “Operation Bite Back.”

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