Jackson Free Press

PURVIS, Miss. (AP) — Three men are being held without bond, charged in a plot to murder a businessman who serves on Mississippi's college board.

Fifteenth Judicial District Attorney Hal Kittrell confirmed Wednesday that an affidavit in the case identifies the alleged target as Tom Duff. Duff serves on the Mississippi Board of Trustees for Institutions of Higher Learning.

A biography on the board's site says Duff, of Hattiesburg, is a co-owner with his brother of Duff Capital Investors.

Online jail records show 47-year-old Howard Cameron, 46-year-old Glen Evans and 41-year-old Victor Mitchell were being held in Lamar County. They were denied bond in a Monday hearing on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

In statements to Mississippi media earlier this week, the Duff family said they know few details about the investigation. They said they were pleased at the way it was being handled by authorities.

The motive for the plot remained unclear Wednesday. Kittrell said he could release few details about the case.

Cameron, Evans and Mitchell were arrested early Saturday morning at a convenience store in Forrest County, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain told state media outlets.

The college board site says Duff Capital Investors employs 9,000 people with revenues exceeding $2 billion annually.

Duff is a 1980 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where, according to the college board site, an athletic center was named for him and his brother, Jim.