(Memphis) A South Memphis mother and her son were hauled off to jail together Tuesday.

The son was arrested for first-degree murder and police arrested his mom for helping him hide.

Jerome Jamison was wanted for shooting a man to death in Whitehaven this past month.

Witnesses who live in the Tulane apartment complex where it happened say the person who shot and killed Derek Parker had a star tattoo  on his neck.

It was that star tattoo that made Jamison the prime suspect in the December 20th murder.

After police say a witness identified him as the killer, officers went looking for him, but it would take an argument with Jamison’s mother to get him into custody.

Neighbors say police circled the South Memphis neighborhood for days, until New Year’s Eve, when they swooped in and arrested Jamison at a Riverside house.

Jamison’s mother is accused of arguing with the cops, saying he wasn’t there and that she hadn’t seen him in months.

They say after 20 minutes, Samantha Jamison finally admitted her son was hiding in the bathroom.

She said her son was unarmed and told police not to hurt him.

Their neighbors understand a mom protecting her son, but not in this circumstance.

“It’s just awful because its putting everybody else is in jeopardy around here,” said a neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified.

Some believe the mother might have been hiding him for days.

“There is a white car back there and it seems to be always gone when the police come and when they leave they always come right back.”

The mom has already bonded out of jail.

Her son won’t be getting out anytime soon because he is being held in jail without bond. He’s due in court Thursday.