WEST POINT — After more than five years, a Clay County murder once thought to be a cold case may have been solved, according to a report released Monday by the Clay County Sheriff”s Department.
CCSD investigators Monday arrested 38-year-old Robert Rupert, of West Point, on one count of capital murder in connection with the Dec. 4, 2003, shooting death of Starkville resident Roosevelt Pernell III.
Officers believe Rupert was involved in the 2003 murder-for-hire of Pernell and the attempted murder of Pernell”s brother, Cedric. According to police reports, Rupert and possibly other gunmen used sniper-style firearms to shoot and kill Roosevelt Pernell and wound Cedric Pernell. Authorities believe the killing was drug-related.
“A murder that had gone unsolved for five-and-a-half years will finally see justice, and the Pernell family will hopefully get some closure with regards to the murder of their family member,” Clay County Sheriff Laddie Huffman wrote in a press release.
“We also know that Rupert did not act alone in this crime, and there are other codefendants that will be presented to the grand jury,” Huffman added.
Rupert Monday was arraigned in the Clay County Justice Court. Because the suspect currently is serving a 30-year sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a previous sale of cocaine charge, he is not eligible to be released on bond.
The case likely will be presented to the Clay County grand jury during its next meeting in October. The grand jury will review the charges brought against Rupert before deciding if the case should go to trial in the Clay County Circuit Court.
The arrest resulted from a more than three-month investigation that began after Huffman formed a Cold Case Unit at the sheriff”s department. The unit was formed after the Clay County Board of Supervisors allowed Huffman to enter partial retirement and use part of his salary to fund the unsolved murders unit.
Huffman hired Col. Bobby Grimes, former deputy director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and assigned CCSD Investigator Brad Pettit to the unit. Grimes, Pettit and several other members of the West Point Police Department, CCSD, state and federal law enforcement agencies investigated the case during the past few months before making the arrest.
“This case proves what can be done by having officers stay focused on these investigations,” Huffman said.
Although authorities have charged Rupert with the murder, investigation of the shooting remains open, and other arrests are pending. Huffman is urging anyone with information regarding the murder to call the CCSD at 662-494-5154.
Roosevelt Pernell III”s murder case is not the only unsolved death in the Pernell family. Roosevelt Pernell III”s father, Roosevelt Pernell Jr., died Feb. 22, 2007 while he was being held in the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center on public drunkenness charges.
LCADC officers discovered Roosevelt Pernell Jr. unresponsive in his jail cell a few hours after he was arrested by the Columbus Police Department on the charges.
Although an autopsy revealed Roosevelt Pernell Jr. died of blunt force trauma to the head, it is unclear whether he received the injuries before or after his arrest.
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