Former MBI Officer John Winstead will soon serve a 22-month prison sentence for beating a suspect in handcuffs. Winstead pleaded guilty a year ago to after pleading guilty to deprivation of civil rights under color of law.
The Justice Department announced in May 2024:
A former Mississippi Bureau of Investigations Officer assigned to the U.S. Marshals’ Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force pleaded guilty today to using excessive force against a handcuffed arrestee.
According to court documents and evidence presented in court, on Sept. 16, 2021, John Winstead was working as a federal task force officer when he willfully deprived arrestee K.K.H. of the Fourth Amendment right to be free from objectively unreasonable force. K.K.H. was arrested during the Task Force operation and was already handcuffed and in the process of being escorted safely by another officer when Winstead struck K.K.H. forcefully in the face, knocking him to the ground.
“Law enforcement officials in our country are entrusted with the responsibility to protect and serve communities, not to exploit and abuse them,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This defendant violently abused his power by using excessive force against an arrestee in his custody who was handcuffed and posed no threat. The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable officers who violate the civil and constitutional rights of people in their custody.”
“Civil rights prosecutions are a priority for the Justice Department, and we work each day towards protecting the constitutional rights of every citizen,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe for the Middle District of Louisiana. “I commend the local and federal partners who worked with our district in ensuring a fair and equitable resolution. May this serve as an example of how collaboration with the Justice Department provides justice in prosecuting the violators of our civil liberties.”
“The defendant assaulted a handcuffed arrestee who posed no threat to him or to the other escorting officer,” said Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI will not tolerate violation of anyone’s civil rights, regardless of incarceration status.”
“We trust law enforcement officers to carry out their duties honorably and with integrity,” said Special Agent in Charge Eric R. Fehlman of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Southeast Region. “Winstead did just the opposite by using excessive force on a handcuffed arrestee. The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) is committed to bringing to justice federal law enforcement agents who abuse their authority.”
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Winstead faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves finally pronounced sentence on Winstead on April 28, 2025. Judge Reeves sentenced him to serve 22 months in prison and fined the defendant $2,000. The Court ordered Winstead to report to prison on June 9.
Attorney Merrida Coxwell represented Winstead. Andy Taggart, Esq. filed an appearance for the defendant after sentencing.
Winstead asked the Court to reconsider the sentence on May 30. Winstead argued:
At the time he entered his plea, Mr. Winstead was under the reasonable belief, based on express representations made to him by his attorneys, that the sentence recommended by the Government at the April 28, 2025, sentencing hearing would be a term of probation only. At no point prior to sentencing was the possibility of incarceration explained to Mr. Winstead by his counsel. Prior to both the Plea Hearing of May 15, 2024, and the Sentencing Hearing of April 28, 2025, Mr. Winstead consulted with his attorneys, Charles Mullins and Merrida Coxwell, regarding the potential outcome and sentence if he were to plead guilty to the charge facing him. The representations made to Mr. Winstead and his wife, Jenny, by Mr. Winstead’s attorneys caused them to believe that the Government had promised to recommend a sentence of probation without incarceration if he would plead guilty.Judge Reeves postponed Winstead's report date to July 21 as he considered the motion for consideration.
19 comments:
So, his own attorneys were late in filing his pleading? Is that grounds for appeal?
Another bully slipped through the cracks and was hired by MS LE. Great background investigation - not.
Antard's buddy must be doing the background searches.
Good dude. He gave a child murderer a little backhand and got 22 months. Let the FBI and Judge Reeves come to Jackson and police the heathens
Darn, the goon squad could have used him. What a missed opportunity.
Reeves isn't going to make Buddy look bad. And I'm sure Andy really won't either and his motion was probably edited by Buddy. This is the type of thing that you guys always crow about but don't understand. If there is ultimately a malpractice claim filed, I was wrong.
Beating? He punched a child killer once after he drug him from his hideout in the middle of the night and the killer acted like a jerk. The child murderer is serving life. You asked the cop to wrangle him down in his hideout after he shot a kid and then sent the cop to prison for overwrangling him. Next time why don’t the rest of you chase down the child murderer in the middle of the night and keep your emotions in check. We’ll wait.
He hit a juvenile that was handcuffed. He’s a bigger thug than the kid he hit. The kid wasn’t charged with murder either, he was charged as an accessory, although I’m not sure the state of that case now.
He sucker punched the juvenile suspect as he was being led out of the house in handcuffs by another officer. There’s video of the whole thing. No need to lie about the circumstances.
Why is this thug cop not behind bars already? He just gets to keep roaming the streets, doing god knows what for years?
22 months in prison for slapping a child killer...after he spit at the officer. A B/M can get less time for killing someone in Hinds County.
@3:54 and 4:02. No one is lying. You are delusional. He admitted to slapping him after the killer spit on him. That “juvenile” “suspect “ was charged and convicted as an adult for murder and is in prison. The cop is the bigger thug? Wonder if you would think so if it was your six-year-old son that had been shot through the head.
Watch the video, that wasn’t a slap. He didn’t drag the guy out of the house, his buddy did. Once he was handcuffed and no threat, he sucker punched him. Guy appears to be roided up as well. Cops who can’t follow the law aren’t good cops or good people, they are just thugs with a badge. The guy belongs in prison. Sorry if that’s your uncle or buddy, but he’s a psycho with a gun.
Yes the video is out there for anyone to see. Be careful before you watch. The punch of a spitting murderer may cause you to clutch your pearls! The horror! So much worse than the psycho who shot a baby in the head.
Not a buddy or uncle. Sorry that you’re the type that will look around for someone else’s buddy or uncle to chase down the criminal who just killed your kid. And then cry and grab the pitchfork when that guy doing the job reacts to the jerk criminal while you were sitting on your couch or sending emails at your dangerous office job.
Total BS sentence. Overreach in Overreach on the part of DOJ. Why don’t they go after the low rent Democrat politicians who encourage assaults on policemen and ICE Agents. Antifa assaults police and nothing happens. This is wrong. Turn the officer loose. Turn him loose and give him a commendation!
Did his brother LEOs on the scene file a report on the assault? The video is apparently a security camera on the house and not a body cam. Was there body cam footage or did everyone's camera malfunction shortly before the incident?
There are some things that cops cannot do or be allowed to do. And good cops know it, just like good people know it. Surprise! Good people make good cops, bad people make bad cops. Just like every other profession on the planet. For a cop to lose his shit - like THIS - is unacceptable and it has nothing to do with the "victim," it has to do with the cop not keeping himself within the acceptable range of self-control in the circumstances in which he found himself.
Yep, cops can have, without serious professional risk, "bad days" and show less-than-perfect control, just like any other profession. However, no profession is entitled to lose control to the extent it takes that professional outside the acceptable range of self-control. Can an airline pilot having a spat with their spouse get snippy with the cabin crew and keep their job? Yes. Can one getting divorced from a cheating, stealing, horrible spouse show up for a flight after having a few drinks? Yes, but there will be career-ending, life-altering consequences. If this cop called the handcuffed suspect a "sorry child-killing mother...." or even a string of general-purpose (non-racial) "invective," should he and would he have kept his job? Yes. Can he strike a handcuffed suspect under the control of another cop? Yes, and he suffered career-ending, life-altering consequences. And he hired Taggart - this dude just does not make good life choices.
"Under color of law", huh. What color is law?
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