By John Howell
Another chapter closed Monday in the life of a troubled young Batesville man responsible for two murders.

Aundrocus Leau Draper, now 23, entered pleas of guilty to the December, 2013 DUI death of University of Akron assistant head football coach Alan Arrington and to the September, 2014 shooting death of Corey Terrell Henderson.

Draper entered the guilty pleas on Monday’s plea day in the court of Circuit Judge Jimmy McClure. He will be sentenced on July 15.

Arrington died in at multiple car crash on Highway 6 East at the intersection with Terza Road. An Oxford native, he was the husband of the former Gail Perkins of Batesville. Draper was indicted for Arrington’s death last July.

 Draper was free on bond on September 1, 2014, following the DUI death, when he shot Corey Henderson near Henderson’s Patterson Street home in Batesville. The hail of bullets also struck  Darius Joel Johnson.

Batesville Police Department and Panola County Sheriff’s Department investigators quickly arrested Draper after Henderson’s sister revealed that her brother had told her that he and Draper had been feuding following a dice game three days earlier, according to court records.
Portia Henderson shared with investigators the message she had received on her cell phone from her brother shortly before he was killed.

“Wud i think dreke then tryn to kill me but if i aint never told yall i love ya,” stated Henderson’s final words to his sister in textspeak.

A Panola County Second Court District Grand Jury indicted Draper last December.
Draper was originally represented by court-appointed public defender Tommy Defer. In April, Helen Kelly became his attorney.

On Monday, assistant District Attorney Jay Hale and Kelly reached an agreement that the Henderson murder charge be reduced from murder with deliberate design to second degree murder.

Draper also pleaded guilty to DUI death charge.

The charge of aggravated assault stemming from the wounding of  Johnson was remanded as were indictments against Draper for felony fleeing in a separate incident.