The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s denial of a Lowndes County man’s motion to suppress evidence of his possession of child pornography.
In August 2010, Robert Warren Triplett, 58, of 181 Golding Road pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 120 months in prison by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.
Triplett, whose trial on state charges of child pornography was continued in Lowndes County Circuit Court, pleaded guilty to one count of a federal indictment, in exchange for not being charged with “any other federal offenses arising from or related to the possession of child pornography charge,” according to the plea agreement.
Before his plea, Triplett filed a motion to suppress the evidence. The district court granted part of the motion and denied part of the motion.
Triplett’s plea agreement stipulated he had the right to appeal a denial of his motion to suppress evidence.
Triplett claimed the search warrant that led law enforcement officers to the pornography violated the Fourth Amendment’s particularity and probable cause requirements, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the requirements were met.
Triplett was arrested after investigators found explicit photos of minor children on a computer obtained from his home, during an investigation into the disappearance of his step-daughter, Kaila Morris.
Morris, then 21, has been missing since Sept. 17, 2009, when she was last seen by Triplett, who said she left the home he shared with her mother, Bonnie Morris Triplett, in a dark-colored van or sport utility vehicle, with an unknown person or persons.
Morris’ mother was vacationing in Florida at the time and urged Triplett to report her missing.
Court records show authorities obtained a search warrant from a Lowndes County Justice Court judge on Sept. 23, 2009, authorizing the seizure of “articles of clothing of Kaila Morris, bed sheets, electronic devices, electronic memory devices, cell phones, DNA, hand digging and cutting tools, vehicles and utility vehicles.”
Court documents note Triplett reported inappropriately touching Morris’ and he washed her bed sheets, shortly before her disappearance. He also told officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigations he traveled to Pickens County “with an ax and shovel” the day before Morris’ disappearance to “check” property and suggested authorities search in Pickens County, because Morris would have passed through the area en route to visit a friend.
Triplett’s wife also told authorities her husband had “recently changed the hard drive in his computer” and Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Ryan Rickert said a search of Triplett’s computer had uncovered lawful explicit photos depicting scenes of bondage, court documents note.
Items seized from Triplett’s home, during execution of the search warrant, included pill bottles, external computer drives, three laptops, a desktop computer, a Magellan Global Positioning Systems (GPS) device, a Sony camcorder, a digital camera, three hard drives, a cell phone, pieces of mattress, blankets and pillows, two shoes retrieved from vehicles, and axes.
During a preliminary search, images of child pornography were discovered and a second search warrant subsequently was issued.
Triplett has past arrests for sex crimes in Mississippi and Louisiana.
“Triplett was thought to have been convicted of rape in Louisiana,” noted the court order affirming the district court’s denial of Triplett’s motion to suppress.
He was on non-adjudicated probation from 2003 charges of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County; the charges were reduced to aggravated assault.
Triplett’s probation was revoked and he now is serving a 10-year sentence at the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
A conviction on the state charges for which Triplett’s trial was continued could mean a sentence of up to 40 years in prison; a federal conviction likely would have meant an additional 10 years.
“That doesn’t impact us at all,” District Attorney Forrest Allgood said Friday of the appeals court’s decision. “The states are sovereign in their own sphere and the federal government is sovereign. When the feds prosecute you, it’s a separate world. It’s a separate existence from what goes on in state court.
“Federally, the court said the search warrant was not lacking by their standards,” he added. “That means any federal hurdles should be cleared away. But you still have State of Mississippi standards (with which to contend). You could look at it as that’s kind of wind in my sails, but it’s not anything that’s going to make my case easier. The practical effect is very little.”
Triplett was investigated by the LCSO, but has not been identified as a suspect in the disappearance of Morris.
The search for Morris still is ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151, 911 or the LCSO at 662-328-6788.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.