Man’s conviction upheld in DUI crash that killed 14-year-old
Published 10:14 pm Thursday, October 19, 2017
JACKSON (AP) — The Mississippi Court of Appeals has upheld a man’s conviction in a crash that killed a teenager in another vehicle.
Mitchell James Roberts of Collinsville was convicted of aggravated DUI in 2016 in Lauderdale County. He is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
The victim, 14-year-old Arnold Jamarcus Altman Jr., was killed in July 2013 while riding to the store with his father.
Witnesses testified Roberts was driving a truck that crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into Altman’s father’s car. The wreck happened on Mississippi Highway 19 in Meridian.
Drug tests showed that Roberts, who was 21 at the time, was under the influence of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
The appeals court on Tuesday rejected Roberts’ argument that there was too little evidence to support his conviction.