A judge on Monday dismissed all charges against a father and son accused of shooting at a FedEx driver in Mississippi.
Former FedEx driver D’Monterrio Gibson claimed that Brandon and Gregory Case shot at him while he was delivering a package in January 2022. The encounter on January 24, 2022, did not injure Gibson.
The cases were charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy, and shooting into Gibson’s vehicle, which did not have the FedEx insignia.
Detective Vincent Fernando of the Brookhaven Police Department withheld crucial evidence during the pretrial, leading to the declaration of a mistrial in August 2023.
The Daily Leader reported. In his order, Judge David Strong observed that the defendants contended Fernando committed many intentional discovery violations.
Brookhaven Police Department investigator Vincent Fernando looks around the Lincoln County courthouse while testifying in Brookhaven, Miss., on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at the trial of two white males accused of following and shooting a Black FedEx driver who had dropped off a box at a home. On Thursday, August 18, 2023, the court declared a mistrial in the case.
On Thursday, August 17, 2023, in Brookhaven, Mississippi, D’Monterrio Gibson and his mother, Sharon McLendon, await the commencement of the trial of two white males accused of attacking Gibson, a FedEx employee delivering a delivery. The judge ordered a mistrial for the individuals charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy, and shooting into Gibson’s vehicle.
Gregory Case, the father, and Brandon Case, the son, speak with an attorney on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Brookhaven, Mississippi. In a January 24, 2022 incident involving a Black FedEx driver, both males faced charges of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and shooting into a car.
Due to numerous intentional discovery violations made by the investigator, detective Vincent Fernando, and thus the state, the defendants have been deprived of a speedy trial, intentionally denied evidence, exposed to double jeopardy and denied due process in general.
Having conducted a hearing and having reviewed the field and all pleadings, the court finds that the investigator in the case intentionally withheld evidence from the defense, even the District Attorney, on numerous occasions, resulting in egregious discovery violations by the state.
These repeated intentional errors are a clear violation of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, as well as well-established case law, justifying the dismissal of the indictment with prejudice.
Judge David Strong’s order
