Mississippi judge declares mistrial for 2 white men accused of shooting at Black FedEx driver because police didn't hand over evidence
Rogelio V. Solis
- A Mississippi judge declared a mistrial for two white men accused of shooting at a Black FedEx driver.
- Brandon and Gregory Case are both charged with attempted first-degree murder.
- Prosecutors said they disagreed with the decision but that a new trial would be scheduled.
A Mississippi judge said he had "no choice" but to declare a mistrial for two white men accused of shooting at a Black FedEx driver after police didn't turn over evidence.
Prosecutors charged Brandon Case and his father, Gregory Case, with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy, and shooting into a vehicle last year.
Attorneys for D'Monterrio Gibson, the Black FedEx driver, said the two men tried to block Gibson in with their truck and chased him before shooting at his van while he was delivering packages in January 2022.
Associated Press
Mississippi 14th Circuit Court Judge David Strong said in court on Thursday that he called a mistrial because Brookhaven Police Department Detective Vincent Fernando admitted under oath that he had not provided either prosecutors or defense attorneys a video statement police had taken from Gibson after the attack.
Carlos Moore, an attorney for Gibson, previously told Insider he thought the case was being "home cooked" by the police department, and wanted a federal investigation into the attack.
Moore said he had reason to believe that the assistant police chief at the Brookhaven Police Department and a lead investigator on the case were related to the two suspects at the time.
Moore's office did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Thursday.
Strong also said that Fernando had improperly testified about guns found inside one of the defendant's homes and that he felt he had no choice other than to call a mistrial after defense attorneys requested one.
"In 17 years, I don't think I've seen it," Strong said of the police department's errors.
Moore told The Associated Press that Fernando's testimony showed police were not thorough in the investigation.
"If this does not end up with convictions of both Cases, I do think it's going to be because of the shoddy work of the Brookhaven Police Department," Moore said.
District Attorney Dee Bates told reporters that he disagrees with the judge's decision but that a new trial would be scheduled.
Terrell Stubbs, a defense attorney for the Cases' did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
Separately, last week a federal judge struck down Gibson's lawsuit against FedEx, saying that he failed to prove FedEx discriminated against him. Moore said that he plans to file another state lawsuit against the city of Brookhaven, the police chief, and the Cases.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.