TCHULA — After a long, contentious preliminary hearing, three young men were bound over on aggravated assault charges Wednesday in the May 18 death of a 49-year-old double amputee.
Kajarius Anderson, Aavon Coffer and Kamechie Coffer were charged with aggravated assault on a vulnerable adult by Tchula Police Chief Kenneth Hampton in the death of Clarence Blue.
Second-degree murder charges were dismissed in a July preliminary hearing by Municipal Court Judge Wesley Evans for lack of probable cause.
Evans, who resigned from the bench, has been replaced by Deshandra Ross, who said there were too many unanswered questions about Blue’s injuries and death to dismiss the cases
Personal injury defense attorneys Dennis Sweet III and Dennis Sweet IV of Jackson, along with Holmes County Public Defender Richard Carter of Kosciusko, argued for the defense.
Newly appointed Municipal Court Prosecutor Jacqueline Smith of Greenville argued for the prosecution, calling Hampton as her sole witness.
But before the hearing began, there was a heated exchange of words between Sweet III and Hampton. The crowd gathered in the courthouse watched spellbound as Sweet accused Hampton of cursing him and Hampton warned Sweet to back off.
“You don’t disrespect me. This is a court of law. I’ve been practicing law for 36 years,” Sweet said, gesturing at Hampton. “I’ll talk as much as I want.”
“I don’t care how many years you’ve been practicing,” Hampton said. “I advised you to not say nothin’ to me. You’re not above being put in handcuffs.”
Four armed officers guarded all doors inside the courthouse, and the three defendants were ensconced behind a portable partition before they were seated at the defense table.
From time to time, as earlier cases were heard and the court broke for recess, the defendants’ heads popped over and they smiled and waved to family and community members gathered in the gallery.
Sweet urged the judge to dismiss the charges against his clients, citing their youth, the time they have already spent behind bars, the previous dismissed charges, their families’ inability to pay bond, and his contention that the evidence did not prove Blue had been assaulted.
Sweet also said that Hampton, well known for his tough-guy Facebook presence, had a vendetta against the defendants and that he had threatened Sweet on the internet, saying “I’m gonna gutcha like a fish from the rootta to the tootta.”
Ross and Smith repeatedly steered the defense away from characterizations of Hampton and directed attention to the purpose of the hearing — to determine whether sufficient evidence existed to show probable cause for the aggravated assault and conspiracy charges.
Blue was brought to Greenwood Leflore Hospital by ambulance on May 18 with acute stomach pain, a laceration on his head, bruising and scratches on his upper legs that suggested he might have been dragged across pavement.
The prosecution argued that at least one defendant had confessed to dragging Blue. The defense argued that Blue dragged himself across the parking lot after falling out of either his wheelchair or his truck and cutting his head.
Blue died at University of Mississipi Medical Center in Jackson on May 19, and the cause of death was ruled a heart attack by a state autopsy. Police responded to Blue’s Delta Manor apartment on May 18 following a 911 call citing a disturbance.
Both the police officer who responded and a sheriff’s deputy, a lifelong friend of Blue’s, responded to the scene. Both, who were called as witnesses by the defense, said they observed a pool of blood in the parking lot, broken glass, blood in Blue’s car and blood on his wheelchair.
Both agreed that when asked what happened, Blue said nobody had done anything to him. They differed on Blue’s state of mind and demeanor when he made that statement.
On the stand, Hampton repeated his contention that videotaped confessions by two of the defendants contained details obtained independently that proved both were at the scene and implicated the other defendant. Hampton had a video projector set up in anticipation of playing the confessions, but they were not offered as evidence.
Two other suspects remain at large, and Hampton said he will continue to pursue charges against them.
Ross was perplexed by some of the information missing at the hearing, including who made the 911 call. In the end, she dropped the conspiracy charges but ordered that the three defendants be bound over on aggravated assault charges until the next grand jury. Bond is set at $10,000 for each of the defendants.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
