The Brookhaven Board of Aldermen fired a police detective on Tuesday after his actions led a judge to declare a mistrial against two men accused of shooting at a Black FedEx driver and to ultimately dismiss the charges.
Prosecutors charged Brandon Case and Gregory Case, who are both white, with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy and shooting into the vehicle that D’Monterrio Gibson was driving while he was making deliveries in Brookhaven, Miss., in January 2022.
During the discovery period of the 2023 trial, Brookhaven Detective Vincent Fernando withheld from the court and defense a recorded interview that he conducted with Gibson at the police station after the incident. Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge David Strong said he improperly testified about finding guns in the home of one of the defendants and shell casings outside.
Mayor Joe Cox said the board voted to terminate Fernando’s effective immediately as a result of Strong dismissing the Cases’ charges on Jan. 6. The judge cited the detective’s “repeated intentional errors” and accused him of violating court proceedings.
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“When matters are presented to prosecutors (are) not up to professional standards, we rectify those matters when made known to us,” Cox said at the Jan. 7 Board of Aldermen meeting. “Further, we have enacted policies and procedures that have been developed by law-enforcement experts along with criminal justice department leaders in our state universities. We expect and demand those to be complied with. We expect professional behavior in our police department.”
Fernando presented a letter to the board with a resignation date of Jan. 31 after a Lincoln County Circuit Court order filed a criminal investigation into Fernando, Ward 6 Alderman Andre Spiller said. Police Chief Kenny Collins then asked the detective if he would change his resignation date to earlier in the month, but Fernando declined.
The Mississippi Free Press left messages for Brookhaven Police Chief Kenneth Collins and Gibson’s lawyer, Willie Abston, asking for interviews, but did not hear back by press time.
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