Friday, April 10, 2015

Two women sentenced for participation in Anderson murder

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi issued the following press release:


TWO MISSISSIPPI WOMEN SENTENCED FOR THEIR ROLES IN A CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED ASSAULTS, CULMINATING IN THE KILLING OF AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN RUN OVER BY TRUCK

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department announced today that Shelbie Brooke Richards, 21, of Pearl, Mississippi, and Sarah Adelia Graves, 22, of Crystal Springs, Mississippi, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Jackson for their roles in a federal hate crime conspiracy involving racially motivated assaults, culminating in the death of James Craig Anderson, an African-American man, in the summer of 2011. Richards had previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of misprision for her role in the conspiracy and the cover-up. Graves previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for her role. Richards was sentenced to 96 months in prison and Graves was sentenced to 60 months in prison. A restitution hearing will be set for a later date.

Six other defendants in related cases, Deryl Paul Dedmon, 22, John Aaron Rice, 22, Dylan Wade Butler, 23, Jonathan Kyle Gaskamp, 22, and Joseph Paul Dominick, 23, all of Brandon, Mississippi, and William Kyle Montgomery, 25, of Puckett, Mississippi, were previously sentenced to 600 months, 220 months, 78 months, 48 months, 48 months, and 224 months, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy. Two other defendants involved in related cases—John Louis Blalack, 21, and Robert Henry Rice, 24, both of Brandon, Mississippi—are awaiting sentencing.

“The Justice Department will always fight to hold accountable those who commit racially motivated assaults,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “We hope that the prosecution of those responsible for this horrific crime will help provide some measure of closure to the victim’s family and to the larger community affected by this heinous crime.”

“This prosecution sends a clear message that this office, in partnership with the DOJ Civil Rights Division, will prioritize and aggressively prosecute hate crimes and others civil rights violations in the Southern District of Mississippi,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi.

“The FBI takes very seriously its responsibility to uphold the civil rights of all citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI in Mississippi. “Together with its law enforcement partners, the FBI will continue its efforts to aggressively pursue and bring to justice all those individuals who conspire to deprive others of their civil rights merely because of the color of their skin."

In prior court hearings, the defendants had admitted that beginning in the spring of 2011, they and others conspired with one another to harass and assault African Americans in and around Jackson. On numerous occasions, the co-conspirators used dangerous weapons, including beer bottles, sling shots and motor vehicles, to cause, and attempt to cause, bodily injury to African Americans. They would specifically target African Americans they believed to be homeless or under the influence of alcohol because they believed that such individuals would be less likely to report an assault. The co-conspirators would often boast about these racially motivated assaults.

Richards and Graves admitted their involvement in two racially motivated assaults, including the beating and killing of James Craig Anderson. Specifically, they admitted that in the early morning hours of June 26, 2011, they and five other co-conspirators agreed to carry out their plan to find, harass and assault African Americans. At around 4:15 a.m., Montgomery, John Aaron Rice, Blalack, and Butlers drove to west Jackson in Montgomery’s white Jeep with the understanding that Richards, Graves and Dedmon would join them a short time later.

At approximately 5:00 a.m., the four occupants of the Jeep spotted Anderson in a motel parking lot off Ellis Avenue. They decided that Anderson would be a good target for an assault because he was African-American and appeared to be intoxicated. Rice and Blalack got out of the Jeep to distract Anderson while they waited for the Richards, Graves, and Dedmon to arrive. After Richards, Graves and Dedmon arrived in a Ford F250 truck, Rice and Dedmon physically assaulted Anderson. After the assault, the four occupants of the Jeep left the motel parking lot in the Jeep. Dedmon then deliberately used his truck to run over Anderson, causing injuries which resulted in Anderson’s death. Richards initially falsely told law enforcement officials that she did not know the reason for the assault and did not encourage Dedmon to hit the victim with the truck. Richards later admitted that she knew that the assault was racially motivated and that she and Graves encouraged Dedmon to commit the fatal assault.

This case was the result of a cooperative effort among the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and the Hinds County, Mississippi, District Attorney’s Office. This case was investigated by the Jackson Division of the FBI and the Jackson Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sheldon L. Beer and Deputy Chief Paige M. Fitzgerald of the Civil Rights Division, and Glenda R. Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to hear. Anderson murders should be punished to the fullest extent of the law!

pittpanther said...

I'm sure none of their parents ever railed on about "those n-words" while these girls were growing up (eye roll).

Anonymous said...

A lot of young people made horrible decisions on that day. It appears as if these two got a pretty severe sentence, they must not have cooperated much. The girl visiting the main culprit in prison probably tacked on two extra years. I guess you can't fix stupid.

Anonymous said...

Glad these two thugs are off the streets.

Anonymous said...

The federal government is a big bully. The one who drove the vehicle got a justs sentence. The rest were made example of by a black racist Justice system led by Smith, Holder, and Obama. Let's destroy some young kids life. That's not justice that's revenge for all the supposed injustices of the past.

Anonymous said...

9:41--these young women destroyed their own lives when they encouraged DD to kill Mr. Anderson simply because he was black.

These women need to take personal responsibility for their actions--they could have stayed at the party instead of joining the mob that was out to kill. Plenty of others were at that party and didn't want to go to the point of killing someone.

And no, the federal government isn't out to make hate crimes out of nothing--see Ferguson MO for your proof on that one.

Its pretty clear here that the idea was floated to kill someone who was black--some at a party left and went to west jackson and murdered someone. They are all guilty.

Anonymous said...

"The federal government is a big bully. The one who drove the vehicle got a justs sentence. The rest were made example of by a black racist Justice system led by Smith, Holder, and Obama. Let's destroy some young kids life. That's not justice that's revenge for all the supposed injustices of the past. "

OK - you bring Craig Anderson back to life and we'll sentence them to just time served.

Idiot. They deserve every day of their sentence.

Kingfish said...

I'm sorry but did I miss the part where they reported it to the police after they got away from those scumbags? Did they tell their parents? Did they say anything when they found out he was indeed killed by their friend? I seem to remember alot of people being mad because Robbie Bell wouldn't call the cops when she had the chance.

Is there a difference?

Everybody Is Not Guilty said...

10:25; You're wrong. The feds did everything they could possibly do to fabricate enought bullshit to turn 'Ferguson' into a hate crime and proceed. It failed. They tried mighty hard but it failed. Just as they fail in all these attempts to make black suicides appear to be homicides perped by whites.

Anonymous said...

I know things are a little different in the metro Jackson area, but in smaller towns in north Mississippi blacks and whites go to school together and are friends. Our class reunions are together. We stay friends forever. It is hard for me to believe that young people at this age could have accumulated so much hatred in their hearts.

Hummingbird said...

9:41am...Wow
Please read:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/02/12/385777366/a-black-mississippi-judges-breathtaking-speech-to-three-white-murderers

Anonymous said...

11:42, age will make you wiser.

Anonymous said...

meanwhile, only 2 members of the 20 strong black mob that beat Ralph Weems within an inch of his life in a hate crime are just serving a little stent for aggravated assault.

They nailed every kid who thought about doing what these kids do. Yet the black mob goes free.



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