STARKVILLE — A Starkville man will spend 30 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections after an Oktibbeha County circuit court jury found him guilty of attempted murder and possession of a weapon by a felon.
Jessie Carpenter, 42, attempted to kill Antonio Hart on Dec. 15, 2019, by shooting him twice before Hart escaped. The jury found Carpenter guilty Thursday after a two-day trial, led by District Attorney Scott Colom and Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Rush.
On the night of the incident, Hart received a call from his friend Brad Clark around 2:15 a.m. to go to Waffle House, unaware that Carpenter would also be there. Hart and Carpenter had a physical altercation five months prior, but Clark testified Wednesday that Carpenter assured him that he and Hart were on good terms.
When Hart arrived, Carpenter jumped out of the car wearing a black hoodie, and Hart said he was unable to make out who was in the hoodie.
“When I saw his face, I asked him, ‘What the f*** (are) you staring at?’ and he said, ‘It is what it is,’” Hart testified. “Then he shot me.”
The bullet, aimed at Hart’s heart, instead grazed his side because Hart quickly turned. As Hart was running away, Carpenter shot him a second time in the arm.
Hart ran to his vehicle and said he wanted to kill Carpenter for what he had done to him. Instead of running Carpenter over with his car like he initially intended, he drove to OCH Regional Medical Center for treatment.
When the Starkville Police Department first approached Hart about the incident, he admitted lying to the officers about what occurred because he wanted to take Carpenter’s life into his own hands, but after considering his grandchildren and potential consequences, he went back to law enforcement the next day to truthfully tell them about the event.
“I was going to kill that man,” Hart said. “ … My grandkids (made me change my mind).”
SPD arrested Carpenter Dec. 17, 2019, at a house located on Reed Road in Starkville, with the investigation spearheaded by Detective Josh Horton.
“The swat team approached the residence, knocked on the door,” Horton said. “The door was opened by one of the owners of the residence. By that point, they came inside and were able to locate Mr. Carpenter in one of the bedrooms inside the house… They said when they were in the room they claimed they saw a small pistol sitting on the shelf in the closet.”
Carpenter had previously been charged with one count of grand larceny and one of possession of cocaine — both felonies — therefore, officers charged him with possession of a weapon by a felon, along with attempted murder.
Defense attorney Mark Cliett argued in his closing statement that several of the statements made by Hart and Clark during the trial were inconsistent from their previous reports to officers and claimed Hart’s demeanor was unprofessional during his testimony.
“Their statements are inconsistent,” Cliett said. “They are consistently inconsistent. They continue to be inconsistent. If they testified again today, they would be different than they were yesterday. That’s how inconsistent they are. Because of that you have to question everything.”
Judge Lee Coleman, who presided over the case, sentenced Carpenter to 20 years in prison for the attempted murder and 10 years for possession of a weapon by a felon, each without any fines. Coleman said the sentences will run consecutively because Carpenter is a habitual offender.
“The court does not feel this is the case for leniency,” Coleman said.
In his closing statement, Rush said Carpenter nearly killed Hart, shooting him less than two inches from his heart.
“(Carpenter) was intoxicated, and he was intoxicated with the worst drug that you could possibly be intoxicated with, and that drug is hate,” Rush said.
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