Three men convicted in Winston County went before the Mississippi Court of Appeals in an effort to appeal their decision from the Winston County Circuit Court.
Joe and Justin White appealed a 2019 conviction handed down by a Winston County Grand Jury and Judge Joey Loper.
The White brothers were sentenced to 35 years, 25 years on the charge of drive-by shooting and 10 years on the charge of shooting into a dwelling.
agree there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions and the State falsely identified them as the perpetrators.
The facts state that on August 22, 2019 Eric, 12, and his brother TyShawn were riding a motorcycle to her aunt’s home, located at 427 Goss Road. The boys realized they were being following by a white SUV. The decision states that the SUV, identified as a white Tahoe passed the home, turn around and began shooting.
Eric was shot three times and their aunt’s son, Kellon, 12, was shot. The boys were life lifted and survived the shooting. During the trial, it was revealed that LaKelvin Hughes and Eric’s brother TyShawn were “sharing the same girl” and there was beef between the two.
The White brothers’ case went before the Court of Appellate,
The Winston County Sheriff’s Department began investigating the shooting, which led to the Whites and LaKelvin Hughes. The three were charged and indicted for drive-by shooting and shooting into a dwelling.
The Court of Appeals upheld the Winston County Grand Jury’s decision.
In the case of Michael Devon Jones, Jones appealed the decision of the Winston County Grand Jury who found him guilty in the death of Malik Hudson. Jones was sentenced to 30 years.
The facts state that on April 10, 2020, there was a craps game in Ivy Apartments. During the game, there was an argument between Jones and Malik Hudson after Jones won. The facts state that Hudson told Jones he owed the house $5, but Jones refused because the house wasn’t offering marijuana or beer.
It goes on to say that Jones threatened to break Hudson’s jaw and rob him, and kill all the other players if they restarted the game without him.
It said while looking for Hudson, he drove to Hudson’s mother’s hosue and offered sex in exchange of money to Hudson’s wife who was pregnant at the time.
He returned back to Ivy Apartments, where he saw Hudson walking to his car. Witnesses to the crime said Jones walked up on Hudson and shot him in the head.
