Murder charges dropped against 20-year-old arrested in spring shooting

Mark Crooms, 20, has been released from the county jail, the sheriff’s office reported Monday.

Sheriff Rand Henderson’s office announced Crooms’ arrest in a press release Friday, naming him as a suspect in the death of John Dennis Holmes III.

Holmes was found dead in the middle of Raypine Drive around 6 p.m. on July 16. Immediately after the shooting, police told people in the area to stay indoors and that they were looking for a man wearing a ski mask, hoodie and blue pants.

In a second press release Monday afternoon, the department said that “new evidence has emerged” that Crooms provided an alibi and that he would be released. The sheriff’s office did not describe the new evidence.

“A warrant was initially issued for Mr. Crooms’ arrest based on probable cause established during the initial stages of the investigation,” the sheriff’s office wrote. The agency called his release an example of the agency’s “unwavering commitment to conducting thorough and fair investigations.”

The press release did not say how long Crooms was in custody. The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office could not confirm whether he ever had an attorney. No court records were available Monday night about Crooms’ arrest.

Anyone with information regarding the Holmes shooting is asked to contact detectives at 936-760-5800 option 3 or Multi-County Crime
Stoppers at 1-800-392-STOP (7867) and refer to case number 24A203879.