(April 1, 2019) Jones County Circuit Court was busy Monday as Judge Dal Williamson and the District Attorney’s Office trio of DA Tony Buckley and Assistant DA’s Kristen Martin and Dennis Bisnette cleared over a dozen cases off the Court’s ledger. Nearly all the cases before the Court Monday were settled via guilty pleas. One indictment, in the case of the State of Mississippi vs. Mary Gore, was dismissed.
Some of the pleas accepted Monday include the following:
*Marcus A. McGill (charged with felony fleeing). McGill was given five years to serve with the Mississippi Department of Corrections with all five years suspended, if he meets the requirements of post-release supervision. He was also fined a total of $917.50.
*Christian Blake Bowen (possession of meth and possession of hydro and acetaminophen): Bowen had no previous felony convictions, and the judge followed Assistant DA Kristen Martin’s recommendation that Bowen be admitted into the Jones County Drug Court program and pay court costs and fees totaling $1,417.50.
“I just want to do better,” Bowen told Judge Williamson during an apology to the Court for his actions.
*Santangela Turner (felonious child abuse): According to the DA’s Office, their evidence against Turner included photos that showed her attempting to choke a child with a phone charger and holding a knife near the child’s neck area. She was sentenced to serve seven years with the MDOC, with three suspended, and pay $1,917.50 in court costs and fees.
*Markei George (burglary of auto): George admitted to taking some stereo equipment from a 1978 Caprice Classic that was parked at Laurel High School. His actions were caught on video camera. He was ordered to the MDOC for three years, all suspended, and to pay a $1,917.50 fine.
*Ryan Mitchell Myrick: Facing multiple counts that included grand larceny, burglary of a dwelling and conspiracy, Myrick could have been sent to the penitentiary for up to 60 years for his crimes, including twice burglarizing the same house on Springhill Road last summer. His second burglary at that home was caught on camera, after the homeowner installed game cameras following the first burglary. He was given 16 total years in prison, with four suspended, and ordered to pay over $4,500.00 in court costs and fees.
“You busted in there and stole from her twice,” stated Judge Williamson about the elderly homeowner whose house Myrick burglarized. “You ought to be ashamed.”
*Brian Austin Brewer (motor vehicle theft): The judge gave Brewer a suspended three-year sentence, contingent on him successfully completing the Community Service Program and paying $1,917.50 in courts costs and fees. Brewer admitted to taking a Toyota Matrix from a homeowner in the West Jones area.
“He has been a trustee for about a year and a model inmate,” offered his attorney, Patrick Pacific, before the judge’s decision.
*Shawn Douglas Beasley (felonious child endangerment): Beasley confessed to using methamphetamine in the presence of his child, who ingested some of the drug from a bottle cap that was tainted with remnants left on a table. There were no long-term adverse health problems to the child, and Beasley enrolled in the Waltman House of Hope to free himself from his habit. The judge accepted the State’s recommendation that Beasley be admitted into the Jones County Drug Court program.
“You were going down the wrong path for yourself and endangered the baby,” noted Judge Williamson. “This is a good chance for you to get your life on track. I want you to succeed.”
*Quadarious D. Chambers (felony DUI): Chambers was given five years with the MDOC, with two to serve, after admitting to his third DUI in the past five years. His third DUI stemmed from his arrest in November 2017 shortly before 2:00 in the morning, after he left a bar on Magnolia Street in Laurel. He was sentenced to five years with the MDOC, with three suspended, a $3,417.50 total amount of court costs and fees, and mandatory participation in the Community Service Program.
*Paxton Luke (possession of hydrocodone and acetaminophen): Luke had five years with the MDOC suspended, if she completes her probation period successfully. Her attorney, Jeannene Pacific, told the Court that her client was enrolled in college with an expected graduation date later this year.
“That was the worst time of my life,” Luke told Judge Williamson. “I’ve turned my life around, and I will never look back.”
*Robert Roy Casey’s case was not heard as his attorney, C. Grant Hedgepeth, presented an Attorney’s Motion to Withdraw. Casey’s case was then appointed to the State Office of Public Defender for legal representation.