A man charged in an armed robbery and shooting last October at the Scott gas station at the corner of Claiborne Avenue and U.S. 82 received a 70-year prison sentence Monday.
The sentence for Waltdrakus Hunter in Leflore County Circuit Court was among a number handed down by the court during a recent session.
Assistant District Attorney Tim Jones said the videotape of the shooting inside the convenience store was as shocking as any he’s ever seen.
The victim, Dakarius Williams, had just recently turned 21 when he came into the store in the wee hours to talk to the clerk.
“Hunter comes in, tells him to get on the floor and shoots him, just shoots him before he can even get down,” Jones said.
The injury paralyzed Williams, who appeared in a wheelchair in court on Monday, accompanied by his father and grandfather.
The offender, later identified as Waltdrakus Hunter, took money from the clerk and fled in a red car. Hunter was arrested shortly after and was indicted initially on armed robbery and capital attempted murder charges.
He pleaded guilty as a habitual offender to both charges and drew 35 years on each count to run consecutively.
The habitual offender classification means that Hunter’s sentence will not be reduced or suspended, nor will he be eligible for parole or probation.
“He will be in prison for 70 years,” Jones said.
Hunter was convicted in 2002 in another armed robbery in which someone was killed. He was convicted of manslaughter and armed robbery in that case, was paroled and committed the 2017 crime not long after being released from prison, according to Jones.
Judge Ashley Hines presided over Hunter’s sentencing.
In other cases during the session, a guilty plea was entered by Dexter Jackson in the Father’s Day 2016 shooting that killed Corey Spells and injured Drekus Lindsey at the corner of State Street and Avenue K.
Jackson was identified by numerous witnesses as the shooter. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault and, according to District Attorney Dewayne Richardson, gave a full confession to Greenwood Police Department investigators. Jackson received a mental health evaluation and was found competent to stand trial.
He took a guilty plea on Aug. 6 before Hines to manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Jackson awaits sentencing, scheduled for the October 2018 Circuit Court term, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years with the Mississipi Department of Corrections for each crime to which he has pleaded guilty.
Two men who pleaded guilty on Aug. 6 to manslaughter in the 2016 shooting death of 17-year-old Knicholas “Little Nick” Bradley inside his home on Rainey Alley in Itta Bena, were sentenced on Monday by Hines.
Demarcio Baines was sentenced to 20 years with MDOC along with Devonte Williams in the shooting that killed Bradley. Andraus Griggs, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to shoot into a dwelling in relation to the shooting death, was sentenced to five years.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
The original version of this article incorrectly reported one of the charges to which Waltdrakus Hunter pleaded guilty in the shooting of Dakarius Williams.
