MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP/WREG) -- The manhunt continues Saturday for Austin Robert Drummond, 28, a suspect in the deaths of four members of a Dyer County family whose bodies were found in Lake County.

However, records show he had a lengthy criminal history, was allegedly a member of the Vice Lords street gang, and was out on bond at the time of the killings, the local district attorney said.

According to court records, Drummond had spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store as a 16-year-old and threatening to go after jurors.

He was tried as an adult for the July 2013 robbery in Jackson. During the incident, he pointed a pistol at the gas station store worker and ordered the cash register to be opened, taking the $44 inside, court records show.

At a 2020 hearing in which he was denied parole, Drummond said he was on Xanax the night of the robbery and doesn't remember robbing the gas station. He claimed the gun was a BB gun.

After the jury convicted him of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, he made threats to go after jurors, Drummond said during the parole hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to 13 counts of retaliation for past action.

The district attorney who covers Madison County, Jody Pickens, urged against early release for Drummond, writing a letter in 2020 that called him “a dangerous felony offender and a confirmed member of the Vice Lords,” a street gang.

Pickens wrote that Drummond made the threats against jurors and the victim in the robbery during a phone call with his father.

The Associated Press obtained audio and documents from the parole board hearing through public records requests.

Drummond was given a combined 13-year sentence. His sentence ended in September 2024, according to Tennessee Department of Correction records.

As of the 2020 parole hearing, Drummond had more than two dozen disciplinary issues in prison, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault, refusing a drug test and gang activity. Drummond said the assault and the deadly weapon charges occurred because he was almost beaten to death.

Drummond was charged criminally for activities inside the prison, included attempted murder, after he completed the sentence that put him behind bars, District Attorney Danny Goodman Jr. said at a news conference.

In December, he was reportedly charged with attempted first-degree murder and contraband in a penal facility.

Since then, he was arrested on even more charges, including meth, contraband, and unlawful telecommunication devices in a penal facility.

Goodman stated Drummond served his entire sentence. There was no probation or parole.

“He had these new charges pending from where it occurred inside the prison,” he said.

Goodman added that Drummond was transferred to Lake County, where he made bond.

“He is currently out on those bonds for those charges, has court dates that have been set, has actually appeared in court and now has these current charges that had just occurred,” Goodman said.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's criminal history that News 2's sister station, WREG, uncovered, Drummond’s rap sheet dates back to 2011 when he was just a teenager. He pleaded guilty to evading arrest and attempted burglary in Jackson. He received 24 hours of community service.

Drummond is wanted for four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of possession of a firearm as a felon, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony following the deaths of four people earlier this week.

The bodies of 21-year-old James M. Wilson, 20-year-old Adrianna Williams, 38-year-old Cortney Rose, and 15-year-old Braydon Williams were discovered Tuesday along Carrington Road in Tiptonville, the TBI said.

An infant -- who was reportedly the daughter of Wilson and Adrianna, the granddaughter of Rose, and the niece of Braydon -- was found safe in front of a house in Dyer County several hours before the bodies were discovered. That's where the investigation into the incident began.

Goodman confirmed that Drummond either was dating or had dated a relative of one of the victims.

An Audi connected to Drummond was found Friday in Jackson, where Drummond has deep ties. In addition, a pickup truck associated with the quadruple murder suspect was located in Dyer County, the TBI announced Saturday.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/who-is-austin-drummond-records-show-vice-lords-tie/