Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Cleared!

The Hinds County District Attorney cleared a man accused of killing Charles Ponthieaux last week.   

Ponthieux was the manager of Top Dollar Pawn at the corner of West and Donald streets. He left the store on February 22, 2019. The manager stopped at a red light and began moving when the light turned green. Ponthieux struck a 4-wheeler that flew out in front of him without warning. . He got out to check on the driver. The ATV was stuck to the bumper of his truck.   Ponthieux said he was going to call JPD to report the accident. The other driver became very angry and said he didn’t want to call the police. A heated argument ensued. Ponthieux walked back to his truck. The driver shot Ponthieux in the back once, killing him.  Several rounds hit the truck. The 52 year-old Madison County resident left behind a wife, three children, and two grandchildren.

 The 52 year-old Madison County resident left behind a wife, three children, and two grandchildren. A frustrated Ponthieux family aired their grievances to the media in July 2019 after they felt they were ignored by JPD.  Earlier post. 

 


JPD arrested Garry Langston and charged him with manslaughter in September 2020.  Langston sometimes hung out  at Ponthieux's pawn shop.  The JPD press release stated: 

According to preliminary information obtained on the day of the incident, Ponthieux was allegedly shot following an accident involving his vehicle and an ATV.  Officers were told that two black males fled the scene and shots were fired.  Langston was also on-scene at that time however, it was later determined that there were discrepancies within his account of what had taken place that day. 

Based on additional evidence recently obtained by investigators, it was determined that Langston allegedly fired the shot that fatally injured Charles Ponthieux. 

A Hinds County grand jury indicted Langston on February 7, 2020 for first-degree murder.   

Unfortunately, Langston was completely innocent. The Hinds County District Attorney stated in the motion to remand
 

  2.         The allegation  contained  in the indictment is that Garry Owen Langston  shot and killed Charles David Ponthieux while committing the felony of aggravated  assault by shooting at several black males, whose identity is unknown to the grand jury, standing near a four wheeler that had just been involved in a vehicular accident with the automobile that had been operated by Charles David Ponthieux, but missing such males and shooting Charles David Ponthieux in the back while Charles David Ponthieux was on the phone with a 911 operator reporting the accident.

3.         Contained  in discovery is surveillance recovered  from  a business in the area that captures the accident and the subsequent shooting of Charles David Ponthieux. The surveillance, however, is at a distance with poor lighting of the area which makes it impossible to tell whose shots are responsible for the death of Charles  David  Ponthieux,  as shots are fired by the black  males involved in the accident, as well as by the Defendant, Garry Owen Langston.

 4.         The surveillance was sent for possible enhancement  to United States Forensics, by defense counsel, John Colette. The enhanced surveillance was recently provided to the State.  Review of said enhanced surveillance clearly shows that the fatal shots were fired by the unknown males who had been involved in the vehicular accident with Charles David Ponthieux. The shots fired by Garry Owen Langston were fired after Charles David Ponthieux falls to the ground as the result of being struck by gunfire from the unknown males.

It appears the investigation will now go back to square one as the Ponthieux family continues to suffer.  Ponthieux's daughter, Emily, said " We want justice served. We want the person who is truly guilty to come forward or be found out. My father deserves justice, and my family deserves that closure."



18 comments:

Grease those Palms said...

"Motion to fix"

"Motion approved"

Anonymous said...

What’s John Colette’s rate for something like this? This guy must make good money.

Anonymous said...

If the 'enhanced video' clearly shows the deceased falling to the ground before the accused fired shots, what the purpose of all the hooplah Kingfish hopes to generate by this Felicia-Hysteria?

Anonymous said...

So Gary Langston has his life destroyed by a rush to justice. Sounds familiar

Anonymous said...

So this guy was defending Chuck?

Anonymous said...

... what the purpose of all the hooplah Kingfish hopes to generate by this Felicia-Hysteria?

Possibly because the murderer is still out there.

Kingfish said...

Apparently so.

Anonymous said...

But, the underlying (and intended) message of the whole thread is that a killer has been freed and won't face justice.

Why the hell was this guy shooting anyway if he was not involved in the accident and had no beef with the deceased or the four-wheeler rider(s)? It's like Boo Boo but smells like a circle jerk.

Reckon the PoPo traced the ownership of the illegally ridden ATV?

Kingfish said...

He was on the scene. The video showed the ATV riders started shooting at Ponthieux when he called 911. He was trying to defend Ponthieux from his assailants.

Anonymous said...

This brings up a good point, especially to all those people that always want to jump up and down about bond. It is a regular occurrence for charges to be reduced, dismissed or a person found not guilty. And regardless of what you think it happens in every county. I was in a conservative county today where during a docket call there were several remands orders presented to the Court. It happens all the time. But when a judge has denied a person bond, and the charge is latter dropped or dismissed, that person cant get that time back.

Anonymous said...

Gary was defending his friend but instead was charged, giving the guilty ones a couple of years head start. I see.

Anonymous said...

@ Kingfish — Why was this guy charged if he shot in defense after the perps shot hitting Ponthieux? I understand one can’t just indiscriminately spray bullets, but seems a stretch to say shooting back at the assailants was unjustified.

CM said...

Why did they go after the apparent passenger in his vehicle who attempted to defend the victim?

Anonymous said...

6:13 - Read the material presented above. It was only after a forensics examination of video that *he* was shown to have discharged his weapon AFTER the ATV perps shot the man. He had already been charged?

This seems to be a real good example of an innocent man about to be convicted had it not been for expert examination of video.

By the way, and sadly, probably fifty or more 'residents' of that hood know who these guys are. Does it matter? Nope.

Anonymous said...

In the end a man was cleared, is that not a positive. Killers still unknown is a big negative. A murder indictment based on incomplete evidence is big negative. Carrying a firearm is a great responsibility. Firing a weapon can have big price in $, time and stress even if dismissed. We need something like the NYC stakeout squad to clean up the area. Without stopping the violence there is not hope for Jackson and the area. Lt: 'did u ask them to surrender?' Det Jim: 'it was hard to hear with all the guns going off!'

Anonymous said...

Stay out of Jackson. Just driving through isn’t safe. This could happen to you, either the victim or the wrongly accused defending the victim.

Anonymous said...

How many more people likely died at the hands of one of the "several black males whose identity remains unknown" while state resources were spent prosecuting a man that was able to be cleared with video surveillance?

I'd bet the accused thinks of the horrors of that day often.

And I'd bet the ATV thugs that murdered him never thought about it again and will sleep sound and free until they are murdered themselves.

Here's hoping God speeds them to the inevitable end they so clearly crave based on their lawless lifestyle choices.

Anonymous said...

834
Could be the same yutes that us marshalls just caught for armed carjackings?
Nawh, it’s probably more likely there is a severe problem with too many teens of the criminal element in new carjack city


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