An Ole Miss student got a sweet deal even though he burned out a fraternity pledge's esophagus by pouring bleach down his throat.
University police arrested Jimmy Higgins in 2020 for the hazing of Pike pledge Robert McGehee and charged him with aggravated assault. A Lafayette County grand jury indicted Higgins for the same charge in 2021. The case just sat on the docket until April 4 when Assistant District Attorney Steve Jubra filed an agreed motion and order to reduce charges (posted below).
The motion states the indictment for aggravated assault is reduced to a misdemeanor charge of hazing as Higgins received the non-adjudication treatment. Circuit Judge Kent Smith sentenced the defendant to serve six months in jail but suspended the sentence although he fined him $283.25. Higgins must also pay $200 in court costs.
If Higgins behaves, the conviction will be expunged after six months.
The victim's mother, Robyn Yerger, did not know about the plea bargain until this correspondent called her yesterday for a comment. She said no one from the District Attorney's office notified her family of the adjudication. Indeed, the victim's bill of rights posted on District Attorney Ben Creekmore's website states victims have the right
• To be notified of any criminal proceedings, other than initial appearance, as soon as practical, and to an) changes that may occur"Oh my God, who would even remotely agree to this?" gasped Ms. Yerger.
• To talk with the prosecutor prior to the final disposition of your case, including giving your
views on an "nol pros" (dismissal), reduction of charge, sentence recommendation, and pre-trial diversion programs
She said her son is doing somewhat better after another major surgery in October 2023. She said doctors had to medically create valves that open (don't shoot me if I get it wrong, MD's) into the stomach as the bleach fried them. The stomach had to be rotated around its base. Ms. Yerger said her son is more comfortable . He is not living a normal life but he is not suffering as much.
Synopsis of Case
A Lafayette County grand jury indicted Jimmy Higgins for aggravated assault on June 17. The indictment alleged Higgins "did unlawfully, willfully and feloniously, purposely and knowingly cause serious bodily injury to Robert Mcgehee, by spraying bleach into the mouth of the said Robert Mcgehee."
The assault took place during the Pike pledge night. JJ reported on April 5, 2021, Mcgehee
and a hardy group of of Pike pledges survived Rush and anxiously awaited receiving their coveted pledge pins. Finally, the fraternity sent out the call: Be at the Pike House on October 11 to get pinned. Such events are anticipated milestones in many a college student's life and this ceremony was no exception.
A night of hazing began. The frat tested the pledges on the personal information of other pledges in their group. Failure of the test meant the flunkie had to be the designated driver. After the test, the pledges were blindfolded with neck ties, directed to yell the preamble "owe to a pledge" as Pikes threw beer on them as they were moving through the pinning process. The pledges had to eat some type of garbage. Typical harmless college fun.
The pledges were asked if they wanted water. Several said yes. Frat members allegedly sprayed bleach in the faces of several pledges and mouth of the 20 year-old Yerger. His mother, Robyn Yerger, said the Pike Chapter President was present during the hazing. Her son began vomiting. Another pledge member was taken to the Baptist Hospital in Oxford due to injury to his eyes. The extent of his injury is not known.
What should have been a night of fun turned into a life of hell began for young Yerger. He was diagnosed with Severe Erosive Esohpagitis Grade 4 due to chemical ingestion. The injury was classified as an alkaline burn. He lost 50 lbs. Unable to eat, he survives on a diet of protein shakes and macaroni & cheese. Needless to say, the young man suffers from depression and anxiety when he should be enjoying the flower of his youth. The Yergers held out hope until they received more bad news at his most recent exam on March 25. His body is trying to heal. It produces new esophageal tissue. Unfortunately, what remains of his esophagus rejects the new tissue, making recovery doubtful. Mrs. Yerger said:
His prognosis is unclear and will face a life long battle with recovery. He is likely to develop Barrett's Esophageal, Esophageal cancer, faces potentially removing 90% of his esophagus and relocating his stomach, all significantly decreasing his life span. We will start our journey at MD Anderson in Houston in the next 45-60 days as the esophagus has not shown signs of healing after 6 months of treatment.The stomach-relocation surgery will be "life-altering." The injury increases his risk of esophageal cancer. The stomach, as well as the acid it produces, will be much closer to his throat. He will have to eat at least three hours before sleeping. It is affected to cause a loss of some teeth as well. He will probably need a feeding tube for several months after the surgery.
University police arrested Higgins on November 17, 2020 for aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon. The brief narrative states:
XXX also updated me on a recent incident that occurred on Sunday, October 11, 2020, located at house. During this time, the anonymous reporting party stated at this meeting along with previous Sunday meetings he and other members started pledge tests, change into khakis, a blazer, button up shirt, and tie. The anonymous reporting party stated once they changed into their attire, they were led up the stairs where they were blindfolded with their ties and were asked to sit in the hallway. The anonymous reporting stated the actives yelled, screamed, threw liquids, and things on the pledges. The reporting party stated the pledges had to do wall squats or "90" against the wall while reciting phrases. The anonymous reporting party stated at this particular Sunday meeting, while everyone was blindfolded, an active grabbed a bottle of bleach or surface cleaner and started spraying it on a few pledges. During this time, one of the pledges threw up from inhaling some of the substances in his mouth, and another one had to go to the hospital because the bleach got into his eyes. The anonymous reporting party was asked how was he aware of the acts that took place. The anonymous reporting party stated he became aware of the incident because he was in the hallway and witnessed the act(s) when it occurred.
46 comments:
Much of the Criminal Justice System in Mississippi is a dog and pony show. The ass of the entire country, if you will.
His Daddy a big donor? Or is now?
Ms. Yerger has good reason to be upset. The system just said her her son's ordeal is not worth the time or effort to prosecute and she was unworthy of a call to alert her to the plea agreement.
RMQ
C'mon KF, when has a District Attorney ever acted in the best interest of the public or had ethics? All they care about is getting re-elected.
That's the good ole boy club up there.
I'm a Pike. I have been for nearly 30 years. I say that to establish that I am pro-Greek.
I was offended by this kid's actions. He should have been prosecuted. This punishment does not fit the crime.
If there was ever a time for vigilante justice it is now. Both the DA and the judge should have a spot in hell waiting for them.
I've have about decided that half of the DA's in this state are Soros funded.
There is precedent - including active cases in other states - for upper courts to reverse plea deals and lower court agreements where victims' families were not properly notified. The victim's family should get someone to pursue that and lack of notice to victim's family is a very red-meat issue.
All those involved (except the victim) are scum.
Attn 12:58 Mr. Pike, what crime did he commit????
This is seriously effed up! Judge Smith (the signature looks like Smith), do you seriously think anyone seeing this will think that you have done your job serving the people? It's almost as if you didn't even consider the facts of the case before you signed whatever order was put in front of you. ADA Steve Jubera, I would be hard-pressed to believe that you aren't receiving some sort of payment (in-kind, or otherwise) for this travesty.
Another example of an entitled douche receiving a slap on the wrist with a wet noodle for grievously injuring someone.
Creekmore is DA? Part of the C Spire richies?
This kid got off for pouring bleach down another kid's throat. I think it was another college, maybe in Ms., where a kid was kicked out of his fraternity, may be kicked out of school, and may be prosecuted for acting like a monkey.
There is something wrong with the colleges in Ms.
12:58
The greek system does nothing but rob the wallets of parents, produce tragedies like this and create havoc.
This kind of shit happens all over the country every year. Injuries, deaths and life altering events. All of this the direct result of dumbass fraternities and sororities funded by idiot parents.
Rod Serling should be here to see this. Get off light for pouring bleach down a guy’s throat, but get nailed for imitating a monkey.
This is a pure outrage.
Let's not forget Sheldon Junior. D.A. gave him a sweet deal so he only had to serve 18 months in prison. And tried to hold the guilty plea hearing in secret in Union County.
My question is what kinf of education are they getting at Ole Miss when a kid thinks pouring bleach down a guy's throat won't hurt him. I guess he didn't enroll in any chemistry classes. I am pretty sure his dad slipped the judge a campaign donation. Hopefully the mom is gonna sue them.
@1:22
Why would George Soros care about district attorneys in Mississippi and what they do or don’t do?
He probably has never been here and cares even less about Mississippi than he does about the other right wing fantasies he has been accused of
Ben Creekmore should be signing his own name to these cases, instead of putting them off on the ADAs.
This is pure chickenshit.
The judge that signed off on this was appointed by Tate Reeves, so why are we bitching about George Soros?
Come on People! Ew know yore not 'posed to be drankin bleach - lessen you got the Covid
I’m a nurse and actually take care of patients that have chemical injuries to their esophagus and multiple surgeries to repair the damage. He will never be able to completely recover from this type of injury, especially if his esophagus is rejecting the new tissue his body is producing. Mom needs to raise some cane with the DA and have this case reopened with a superior court and sue for injury and future medical bills as he will have to have care/surgeries for this for the remainder of his life.
Looks like Higgins has landed at University of Florida (another party school) and doing pretty well in a tux on his profile pic. Disgusting!
Hopefully the victim got some sort of compensation from the perp and the frat.
The law is executed toward those of good conscience and no influence.
I'm sure the DA and the Judge and most of the criminal justice system in that county are not graduates of Jackson State, Alcorn or Tougaloo. In fact how do you expect Judges and DA's who passed through the same school (Ole Miss) with the same frat culture are going to throw the book at their brethren who are probalby doing the same mayhem they did when they matriculated through Oxford.
Disgusting. Sickening. Shame on the DA and the judge.
May 7, 2024 at 2:59 PM, little do you know;
https://www.influencewatch.org/political-party/mississippi-justice-public-safety-pac/
I don't have time to hold your hand through all of it, but this will get you started. That is, if you can google.
Pi Kappa Alpha.
That’s about all we need to know.
Straight outta central casting.
1:22. Actually there are/have been DA campaigns which received fonde from Soros connected donors. Indeed a recent speaker who has researched and published a book on the politicization of DA races indicated that Mississippi was one of the states the Soros’ funded groups used to develop their strategies for how to influence campaigns for DA. I, frankly, was surprised, but the guy actually documented this in a recently published book. Even Politico has published an article as far back as 2016. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/george-soros-criminal-justice-reform-227519
What you don’t know can hurt you.
The justice system in MS is a joke. A tragic joke. This is another clear example. Look at Hinds County.
Creekmore must resign. This is sicker than the act itself.
Please keep attention on this. Unbelievable!
Beyond reasonable
Higgins should have an equivalent amount of bleach poured down his throat.
I agree with 9:53. Imagine if we could just hold Higgins down and let him see how it feels.
Let him cope with the same aftermath.
I cannot imagine how this poor mom feels seeing this brat skate free and party while her son deals with life altering injury.
Creekmore is a POS.
The fraternity and all of its members were punished. The chapter was kicked off campus for four years. And the injured kid did sue Pike. Not sure of the status of the case - eventually will settle.
It wasn't a no bill.
https://thedmonline.com/seven-um-pi-kappa-alpha-members-charged-with-cyberstalking/
There was a petition against the 4 year suspension of the Ole Miss Pikes.
The angst and anguish expressed by some of the parents of the poor Pike yutes affected is really something.
https://www.change.org/p/change-the-severity-of-sanctions-ole-miss-pi-kappa-alpha
Following up on 1:47pm - I just read the comments from those who signed the petition supporting Pike and am stunned by some of the comments, mostly by mothers of Pike pledges. The entire petition is just bullshit. You have to wonder what world they live in and what they would be saying if it was their son who endured this hazing, and make no mistake, it was hazing of the worst kind.
Pike at Ole Miss was, and was is the definitive word, at one time one of the better fraternities, but everything goes in cycles, and Pike, at the time of this incident, was not one of the better fraternities. I have no idea who the Pike advisers were at the time of this incident, but an educated person can take the position that this was no isolated incident, and the advisers could have, and should have, put a stop to this behavior long before it happened.
Every fraternity at Ole Miss has it's share of problems, but no sane person can, in any way, defend what happened to this boy.
The better fraternities at Ole Miss, and all schools, have a strong alumni advisory group. Through no fault of their own, the fraternities have grown to a unmanagable size. It is impossible to control groups of 200 - 300, but those fraternities with strong alumni leadership are quick to dismiss the "bad apples" from the fraternity. Obviously the Pike chapter and advisers, if any, did not address this issue.
And the legal system in this case is beyond a joke - everyone in the DA's office and the judge should have to experience the same treatment as the boy being hazed.
Great job on this Kingfish. This is typical and a perfect example of how a district attorney plays around with people. A light needs to be put on these district attorneys who play with the system. DA's hide in the middle. This case should have been dealt with a long time ago. The public sees what law enforcement does because it's reported. The public sees what a judge does because it's reported. Media doesn't report the maneuvers a district attorney makes. If the victim was never involved in the process, I can't think of a bigger crime committed on the victim than the original crime.
Gotta agree with 9:05. I know Creekmore. He's the same as every other politician who likes to hear the sound of his own voice. He and others forget the voice he's hearing coming out of his mouth is supposed to be the voice of the people he represents. Does he care is the question. This story isn't about a fraternity. It's about people doing the right thing and people failing to do the right thing.
7:20 for the WIN! This entire saga is beyond disgusting.
It's not like the DA or aqnyone else is required by Mississippi statute to do the right thing.
The 'right thing' is one thing and 'justice' might be another. Apparently the DA apparently agrees that non-adjudication is just the 'right thing' for 'justice'.
Our education system is a failure. How does someone graduate high school and go off to college and never have taken a chemistry class, never have dealt with bleach or other chemicals, and not know this was not a good thing to do??
Kid should be expelled from college and from any greek/social groups at a minimum.
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