Black Accused of Helping to Kill Popular White Waiter

Sun Herald
January 19, 2014

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Hunter Miller. His mother was extremely proud of his desire to provide for his fiancée, whom he lived with, and his willingness to help others. About a year ago, he met a homeless man who needed clothes and food for his children. Hunter Miller spent a couple of weeks buying food and clothes for them. He was also a gifted artist.

Police obtained an arrest warrant Thursday for a man accused of trying to help a capital murder suspect avoid arrest in the robbery and fatal shooting of 26-year-old Hunter Miller of Biloxi.

Freddie Lee Lawrence, 24, of Gautier, is sought on a charge of accessory after the fact. Police have asked for help to find him.

Tipsters are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898.

Police hope Lawrence can lead them to the man who shot Hunter in the back Tuesday night while Hunter was in his car at Ladnier Road and University Street.

Police believe Hunter was trying to buy drugs and a man was in the car with him but fled. Miller was found wounded after his car hit a fence. He died in an ambulance.

Police have not said what type of drugs allegedly were involved.

Not knowing who the alleged killer is poses a danger to the community and to law enforcement officers, police Capt. Jerry Cooksey said. “If an unsuspecting officer stops the man, not knowing who he is, the officer or others could end up getting shot.”

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Hunter Miller with his fiance.

Miller had problems with drugs in the past and was trying to get his life on the right track, said his mother, Suzanna Miller. He had served a couple of years in prison for a theft related to his drug use.

She said he battled depression and frustration because his felony conviction held him back from career opportunities.

“He paid his dues so fully,” she said. “But it seemed that in everything he wanted to do, the door was shut because he had a felony.”

“He was a good person who wanted to make money the right way and he struggled with the way the system held him back. I know he wasn’t perfect, but deep down he was a sweet soul.”

Family and friends have described him as having an outgoing personality and a contagious smile. Others knew him as a popular waiter at The Hook Up, a restaurant and bar on Biloxi’s Back Bay.

Hunter Miller used art to express his love for life and his frustrations, his mother said.

“He was a gifted artist and had an awesome personality,” Suzanna Miller said. “He was like a light in a room.”

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Freddie Lee Lawrence, 24, of Gautier, is sought on a charge of accessory after the fact.

He sketched pictures, painted, wrote poetry and made music. He began tattooing several years ago. He viewed art as a form of therapy.

“I knew he was talented from the time he could hold a pencil in is hand,” she said.

While she dressed for work one morning, her son, then 4, sat at a small table with a box of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. He had drawn a picture of Tony the Tiger.

“It was so good it looked like he had traced it,” she said.

As an adult, he enjoyed making art with designs and sketching pictures of people. He even sketched his dog, Lily, a boxer.

Suzanne Miller said she’s also proud of his desire to provide for his fiancée, whom he lived with, and his willingness to help others. About a year ago, he met a homeless man who needed clothes and food for his children. Hunter Miller spent a couple of weeks buying food and clothes for them, she said.

He had planned to give his mother a tattoo on her wrist for her birthday in December. He envisioned two ornate H’s, for her sons Hunter and Hayden.

“I will always regret he didn’t get a chance to do that,” she said.