Shelton sentenced to 7 years
Local businessman Benny Shelton has been found guilty of one count of sexual assault against a minor and will serve seven years in prison for the offense.
Shelton was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison, with five years suspended.
Alleged victim testifies in Shelton trial
The key witness for the state’s sexual assault case against local businessman Benny Shelton took the stand yesterday to testify against his alleged abuser.
Murder, sex crimes trials set for Circuit Court
A murder trial and a pair of sex-related crimes are scheduled for today in the 16th Circuit Court in Lowndes County.
Depraved-heart murder on Lowndes court docket
COLUMBUS — Columbus woman accused of murdering her unborn child is slated to stand trial in Lowndes County Circuit Court this term. Rennie Taria Gibbs, 20, of 300 S. Lehmberg Road in Columbus, No. 25, was 15 when she got pregnant.
1996 murder case ends in manslaughter plea
Edward Lamon Blunt was outside WACR in his car waiting for a friend who was a disc jockey at the radio station on 14th Avenue North in Columbus. A man approached his vehicle claiming to be God.
Lowndes Circuit Court: Steens man pleads guilty to child rape
A Steens man was sentenced to 28 years in prison for statutory rape. The Lowndes County Circuit Court session wrapped up last week with a high-profile murder case. The same day a guilty verdict was delivered in the Daniel Copple murder trial, Joshua L. Conn of 413 Steens Road in Steens pleaded guilty to statutory rape.
Copple sentenced to life: ‘Please forgive me’
The public may never know exactly what happened in that little downtown Columbus tavern on the morning of Feb. 16, defense attorney Steve Wallace said.
But a 12-person Lowndes County jury composed of eight men and four women found Daniel Paul Copple guilty Thursday of murdering Mark Caudill and James Bennett Mann II on that morning inside the Elbow Room Lounge. Jurors received the case about 11:45 a.m. Thursday morning and returned with the verdict about 1:30 that afternoon.
State ME testifies in Elbow Room murder trial
There was no hesitation in Dr. Adel Shaker’s voice. Either of the gunshot wounds Mark Caudill suffered the morning of Feb. 16 would have been fatal alone.
Copple accused of murder: ‘I’m just doing everything I can to live’
Daniel Paul Copple said he does not remember much from the morning of Feb. 16, but he does remember being in the Elbow Room Lounge, entering a fight with Mark Caudill who had a gun and at least one gunshot going off.
Lowndes County murder trial: Bartender testifies he thought he would die
The atmosphere inside the Elbow Room Lounge on the night of Feb. 15 was “just calm as it could be,” a state’s witness testified Monday.
That atmosphere changed within hours when two men were shot and eventually died.
Elbow Room murder trial: Defense denied change of venue
The trial of a man accused of killing two men at a downtown Columbus bar began today in Lowndes County, despite a motion for change of venue.
Lowndes Country Circuit Court 12-2-11
A Caledonia man accused of child abuse was sentenced to eight years in prison. Gerald Melvin Fink III, of 2036 Anderson Grove Road Lot 1 in Caledonia, was sentenced Nov. 16 by Circuit Court Judge James Kitchens to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Trial continued in case of murdered club owner
The capital murder case of Cedric Cortez Whitley, of 20393 Egypt Road in Aberdeen, was continued by Circuit Court Judge Lee Coleman until next year.
Columbus man exonerated of charges stemming from 2010 armed robbery and kidnapping
The defense kept pushing that there was not enough evidence to convict a Columbus man of armed robbery, kidnapping and burglary.
And it worked.
Man found guilty of child exploitation, will serve at least 10 years
A jury found a Columbus man guilty of one of three charges of sex crimes, in Lowndes County Circuit Court last week. Tommie Harris, 31, will serve at least 10 years at the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Seventeen year old sentenced to 15 years for statutory rape
Tony Jennings will spend at least the next 10 years of his life behind bars. A Lowndes County Circuit Court jury found the 17 year old guilty on Wednesday for one count of statutory rape of a then-13-year-old girl. Judge Lee Coleman sentenced Jennings to 15 years at the Mississippi Department of Corrections on Friday with five of the years suspended and five years under post-release supervision.
Teacher’s sexual-battery case continued
The case of a Lowndes County math teacher accused of sexual battery has been continued until the next session of Lowndes County Circuit Court in December.
Lowndes County Circuit Court 9-5-10
Lowndes County Circuit Court Judges Jim Kitchens Jr. and Lee Howard handed down the following sentences during the final weeks of the August term that ended Friday:
Triplett pleads out in child porn case
In federal court today, a Lowndes County man pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
Caledonia man found guilty of 2009 fairgrounds beating
A 35-year-old Lowndes County man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a 2009 aggravated assault at the Columbus Fairgrounds.