An Ole Miss student who suffered a burned-out throat during a fraternity hazing incident last year may finally see some justice. A Lafayette County grand jury indicted Jimmy Higgins for aggravated assault on June 17. The indictment states:
Jimmy Higgins late of the County and State aforesaid, on or about the October 11, 2021, and within the jurisdiction of this Court, 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 incident allegedly took place during the Pike pledge night. JJ reported April 5:
Jackson Yerger 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.
Oxford 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.
Higgins' bond was set at $50,000. He is a resident of Florida.
Kingfish note: Jackson has a different last name from his mother. His mother's last name was used in the original post.
22 comments:
Uh, there may be a slight problem with the indictment since it's for a date almost 4 months from now, unless Lafayette county has some kind of Minority Report technology the rest of the world does not have.
Way to get back in the news cycle after MSU's national championship, Ole Miss!
So, after Barbara Dunn retired from being the Hinds County Circuit Clerk, did she move to Oxford to become a deputy circuit clerk? A "Barbara Dunn" signed the capias as the deputy clerk. Gotta be the same person, right? If so, good for her.
Good.
go to college to get educated not this foolishness. Frats and Sororities seem like a waste of time. I understand there was a time when this was more dignified and reasonable but now its just silly. A young man from USM hurled himself multiple times at a full length window in a New Orleans Hotel during a "frat" event. Nobody tried to stop him, i'm sure they thought it funny and cheered him on. He finally broke through an plummeted 8-10 stories to his death. He kept saying "i want to go swimming" There are stories of this all over the country. As a young man I would have likely done this crap. As a parent it saddens me to think how bad those parents but be hurting due to some dumb crap.
Should have chosen the soggy biscuit.
Sad to be that young and foolish with no fear of parents cutting funding or what the punishment for breaking the law no matter who Higgins family is. No one even an attorney is above the law!
No real need for Frats and Sororities anymore. Glad this kid may see some justice and if there hasn't been anything civil filed there needs to be against the U, the criminal and Frat Org.
" I understand there was a time when this was more dignified and reasonable but now its just silly ".
That's an understatement.
Times have changed.
Universities are not what they once were. Same goes for the collegiate greek community.
Hell, I was in a major national fraternity back in the 80's. We did some stupid stuff, but we would never harm a pledge. Embarrass them for sure, but never hurt them.
Other than a few sore muscles from push-ups,ect.
(But then again, I don't understand the new gender pronoun shit these kids are so obsessed with in 2021)
That aside, I honestly hope this young man recovers and has a relatively normal life.
The problem with frats is that it gives peer pressure encouragement to young men to do crazy shit they would never do alone. Real crazy shit.
"The problem with frats is that it gives peer pressure encouragement to young men to do crazy shit they would never do alone. Real crazy shit."
No argument at all.
You are correct.
It's the exact same psychology as the "inner city" street gangs use.
About the only difference is the dress code.
(I doubt most gangs require blazers & khaki pants) .
And that's not just an Ole Miss thing, it's the same at many SEC schools.
However, I'm pretty sure the Southern Miss crowd still prefer flip flops & three chambered bongs in late November.
What's their slogan .... " Grateful Dead to the Top " ?
Going from being brothers for life to being maimed for life probably sucks.
Indictment will probably be thrown out because DA filed an impossible me time of incident.
At least two lives ruined because a bunch of entitled brats made stupid decisions after sitting on their brains.
to 7:29pm..........let me guess....you are not a lawyer , but you play one on JJ...........RIGHT?.......thats called typo and it will take the DA about 30 seconds to correct under the current rules of court. don t quit your day job you little puke.
Lock 'em up!
Hotty Toddy.
Hell Yeah!
7.29. An error in an indictment as to time of the offense is amendable on motion by the prosecutor. In other words, it is not a substantive defect that would require the grand jury to act. But even if not, even if the indictment were to be quashed, there is nothing that would prevent the DA from seeking a new indictment. There would be no "double jeopardy" issue involved since there would be no trial on the original indictment. In fact, if the DA wanted to he could seek a "superseding indictment" from the grand jury.
Actually, I called the DA's Office and notified them of the error as I wrote the post. Probably around noon. It will be corrected. Harmless error.
Pikes have a reputation nationally for extreme hazing. Close down the national organization and start making the parents of these arrogant hazers pay monetarily. To be in college and not know the full ramifications of what bleach does to the body shows that you should not be in college. Furthermore, to treat any other human this way by putting them in a dangerous medical situation shows that the parents probably never raised a hand to this idiot, hoping that his time-out intervals would make him a caring conscientious citizen. Sad.
the beautiful people of the SEC strike yet again. this is a new low. i hope everyone involved from ole miss on down get sued right out of existence after they put this punk on the long line a parchman at the business end of a cotton sack.
I can understand sororities (aka "girl stuff"). But frats seem like a scam. Pay for friends? How many careers and lives have been ruined because of this pie in the sky idea of a utopia organization?
Pi Kappa Alpha we are pissing on your lawn,
and now we'll piss on you.
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