Case motions to suppress evidence from Fed-Ex Shooting heard Monday
Published 2:39 pm Monday, June 12, 2023
BROOKHAVEN — Gregory and Brandon Case were present for a motion hearing Monday morning at the Lincoln County Courthouse. They are charged with attempted murder, conspiracy and shooting into a motor vehicle in an incident on January 24, 2022.
A motion for discovery from the defense was heard first. District Attorney Dee Bates said there was nothing new. Gregory Case’s attorney Terrell Stubbs made a motion to view evidence. Bates told him they could stop by his office anytime in the coming weeks to see any evidence ahead of trial.
Stubbs entered a motion to require the state to specify which evidence would be used. There are seven DVDs and 227 pages of documents in evidence. “We don’t want to be ambushed,” he said. Judge David Strong said it would be determined when the trial progresses.
Stubbs made a motion in limine, to exclude, a statement made by Shelley Harrigill because he felt it had nothing to do with the case. Harrigill made a statement saying she had driven down the road the Cases live on and one of the defendants had a problem with her. Strong said the statement would not be dismissed as of yet because “evidence entered in a vacuum is out of context and must be heard in context of the trial.” It could be deemed admissible at a later time.
Brandon Case’s attorney Dan Kitchens said he did not make any motions because the motions applied to both co-defendants. Stubbs entered a motion for the state to supply a list of witnesses they will call for the trial but the judge affirmed the state had supplied a list.
Stubbs made a motion to suppress a couple of statements made by the defendants. Bates said it appears there is no statement from the defendants but they have a couple of statements taken from audio recordings. One is a 911 call made by Gregory Case as the defendants are on the road following the victim. The dispatcher asks a few questions and Gregory answers. Bates said in court the statement was not a violation of any constitutional rights because it was made while the Cases were not in custody.
Another statement the defense sought to be suppressed comes from an audio recording of Brandon Case at “the Honda place,” on January 25 the day after the shooting where he talks about the incident with Detective Vincent Fernando and officer Kelsie Evans. Brandon spoke some more in an audio recording at his residence during a search warrant.
Fernando testified after they left the “Honda place,” they went to Brandon’s home for the search warrant and then to the police station where Brandon Case was read his Miranda rights. He waived them and then they went back to the Honda place. The motion to suppress was deferred to be heard at a later date by Strong.
A call of trial docket is scheduled for July 31 beginning at 9 a.m. and trial is set for the August 8 period at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Brookhaven.
The shooting
The Cases were arrested in connection with a January 24, 2022 shooting. D’Monterrio Gibson, a FedEx driver at the time, was exiting the driveway of Case’s residence on Junior Trail after making a delivery when he said Gregory Case blocked his exit with a pickup truck.
Gibson was wearing his FedEx uniform but was driving a Hertz rental truck with a FedEx magnet on it, maneuvered his vehicle around the pickup. The younger Case, Brandon, was standing in the roadway with a handgun pointed at Gibson. He drove past Case and called his manager.
The Cases then allegedly chased the delivery truck as Brandon Case fired repeatedly at Gibson’s vehicle. The pursuit continued until Gibson entered Interstate 55 headed north toward the FedEx distribution center in Jackson.
Brookhaven Police Department Chief Kenneth Collins said Gibson and his manager filed a complaint the following morning with BPD. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation were contacted to assist in the investigation.
On Feb. 1, 2022, the Cases surrendered to police in the presence of their attorneys. At the time, they were charged with conspiracy and shooting into a motor vehicle.
In November 2022, a grand jury indicted the Cases on charges of conspiracy, attempted murder and shooting into a motor vehicle. They were arrested and each bonded out on $500,000 bonds.
In January 2023, Gibson filed a lawsuit against FedEx, the City of Brookhaven, and Brookhaven Police Chief Collins.