Holly Springs Gunman Gets 15 Years

⏱ 3 min read

Keena Boyce, 44, is trading Pallet Source Inc. for a federal cell after getting 15 years for blasting a coworker at the Marshall County plant. The shooting, date unspecified, sent ripples through the small Mississippi town. Boyce, already a convicted felon, wasn’t supposed to *have* a gun, but he did – and used it during a workplace dispute. Marshall County deputies hauled him in on the spot, still clutching the handgun.

Records show Boyce had a prior violent conviction in state court, meaning he was legally barred from owning a firearm. Didn’t stop him. The ATF and the Sheriff’s office teamed up on the investigation, building a case that stuck. The victim’s condition wasn’t released, but the attack clearly escalated beyond a simple argument.

U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary, for the Northern District of Mississippi, trotted out the boilerplate about “career offenders” and community safety. ATF SAC Joshua Jackson added a warning to other ex-cons packing heat illegally: do it, and “we will work to keep our neighborhoods safe.” Sounds good on paper, but it’s prison time for Boyce.

Boyce will serve the full 15 years, then get three years tacked on for supervised release – if he makes it that far. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Herzog Jr. handled the prosecution, highlighting the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative, a fancy name for cops and feds working together to get shooters off the streets.