Opinion ID: 2734258
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: ¶2. This case arises out of the March 8, 2006, armed robbery of Michael and Heather Whittington at their home in Union County. During the evening on that date, Michael, Heather, and their two daughters were at their home on County Road 56 in Myrtle, Mississippi, when two men forcibly entered their house. The men entered the master bedroom and demanded that Michael give them all of his money or they would kill his children. Michael attempted to fight the men, but one of them struck him over the head with a pistol, knocking him unconscious. One of the men searched the pockets of Michael’s pants and took his cash, credit cards, and wallet. Michael had cashed a check at the Bank of New Albany earlier that day and had roughly four thousand dollars on his person. The men then entered the master bathroom, held Heather at gunpoint, and took her engagement ring, her wedding band, and another diamond ring from her. After the intruders left the house, Heather called 9-1-1. ¶3. Jimmy Dean Whitten, a criminal investigator with the Union County Sheriff’s Department, was one of the first law-enforcement officers to arrive at the Whittington residence after Heather’s 9-1-1 call. Investigator Whitten attempted to take statements from Michael and Heather at the scene, but Michael was barely conscious due to his injuries, and Heather was too distraught to give an accurate description of the robbery. 2 ¶4. Mickey Baker, an investigator with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, also was called to investigate the robbery. Investigator Baker was notified that some sheriff’s deputies had located a black GMC pickup truck, still running, abandoned a short distance from the Whittingtons’ house. The truck had been reported stolen two days earlier in Memphis, Tennessee. Investigator Baker went to search the truck. Inside the truck, Investigator Baker found purple Bank of Albany money wrappers, which were later identified as the ones that had been wrapped around the cash Michael had received at the Bank of New Albany earlier that day. The wrappers contained the teller’s initials and the date “March 8, 2006.” After searching the truck, Investigator Baker received a call from a resident in the area claiming he had seen the black truck driving in the area earlier in the day, followed by a small lightblue car. ¶5. Investigator Baker visited the Whittingtons in the hospital at around 11:30 p.m. on the night of the robbery. At that time, the Whittingtons were able to give him a description of the robbers. Michael described one of the men as a medium-build, dark-skinned, AfricanAmerican male wearing a dark jacket and some kind of head covering, either a hood or a hat. This man was carrying a revolver. He believed the other man may have been white, but stated that he never got a good look at him. Heather described one of the robbers as a darkskinned African-American male with a “round chubby face” and rough complexion and at least one gold tooth. She stated that this man was wearing a camouflage hooded jacket. Heather described the other robber as a light-skinned African-American or white male with smoother complexion. This man was wearing a black or brown jacket and either a hood or 3 a hat. Heather estimated that both men were between 5' 10 and six feet tall and weighed between 180 and 200 pounds. ¶6. Through further investigation, the Union County Sheriff’s Department determined that the robbers were likely from the Memphis area. Several days prior to the robbery, Michael had called the police to report a black Volvo with Memphis tags driving past his house.1 The Whittingtons’ credit cards also had been used in the Memphis area after the robbery, prior to being cancelled. Michael owned a scrap-metal business and dealt primarily in cash, so Investigator Baker asked him to notify the sheriff’s department if he could think of anyone from the Memphis area with whom he recently had done business. ¶7. On April 4, 2006, Michael called the Union County Sheriff’s Department and stated that a man from Memphis named Steven Ryan Davis had just come to his shop to sell some scrap metal. Michael had done business with Davis on numerous occasions and always paid Davis in cash. Officers with the Union County Sheriff’s Department located Davis and stopped his vehicle. Davis was driving his father’s truck with a suspended license and no proof of insurance, so he was taken into custody. When questioned about the robbery, Davis denied any involvement in or knowledge of the crime. However, Davis did admit that he owned a light blue Plymouth Colt, which matched the description of the car seen near the Whittingtons’ house on the night of the robbery. Davis posted bond for his traffic offenses and was released from police custody the same day. 1 Michael testified that he followed the black Volvo away from his house and reported the license plate number to the police because he knew that no one living on County Road 56 drove that particular car. 4 ¶8. Investigator Baker later questioned Davis a second time while he was in custody in Memphis. At this interview, Davis admitted to his involvement in the robbery and provided Baker with information on two men nicknamed “Alligator” and “Baby J,” the other men involved in the robbery. ¶9. “Alligator,” also known as Allery Hopson, was arrested after the police recovered Heather’s rings from two pawn shops in Memphis and determined that he had pawned them. Hopson owned a black Volvo with Memphis tags matching the license-plate number recorded by Michael several days prior to the robbery. Investigator Baker described Hopson as a light-skinned African American with a smooth complexion, while he described McCoy as a dark-skinned African American with a round face and gold teeth. ¶10. “Baby J,” also known as James McCoy, subsequently contacted the Union County Sheriff’s Department and denied any involvement in the crime. After being told that the police were checking surveillance video from several places in Memphis where the Whittingtons’ credit cards had been used, McCoy contacted the sheriff’s department again and told them that Hopson and Davis had implicated him in the robbery in an attempt to keep Davis’s family from finding out about his involvement in the crime. He stated that he had loaned Hopson his phone on the night of the robbery and had met up with Hopson and Davis at a gas station in Memphis after the robbery. McCoy subsequently was arrested for the robbery, as well.