|
Murder trial set in Circuit Court Monday |
|
Sunday, 28 October 2007 |
By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News
The murder trial of a Mathiston man in connection with the 2004 shooting death of a Pheba man is scheduled to kick off the final week of the fall term of Oktibbeha County Circuit Court on Monday.
Thomas Terrell Smith, 36, of Willie Street, Mathiston, is charged with murder in the Jan. 29., 2004, shooting death of Terry U. Tate, 31, of 2145 Pollybell Road, Pheba.
Smith is charged with fatally shooting Tate while he was sitting in a car outside Larry C’s store on Highway 15 in Maben about 9 a.m. that day.
At the time, Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt said Tate likely died of massive internal bleeding from the gunshot wound after the bullet travelled through his left arm and hit him in the chest.
Tate was pronounced dead at Oktibbeha County Hospital after emergency room physicians and nurses unsuccessfully attempted to revive him.
Smith was arrested by Webster County sheriff’s deputies and Mathiston police less than an hour after the shooting. Oktibbeha County authorities have released little information about the circumstances of the case.
Smith was indicted by the Oktibbeha County Grand Jury on a murder charge in July 2004.
Following his indictment in 2004, Circuit Court Judge Jim Kitchens, who will preside over Smith’s trial on Monday, then ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation at the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield to determine mental competency to stand trial and if many mitigating circumstances in his life may have contributed to his physical or emotional health.
Jury selection in Smith’s trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday at the Courthouse Annex on West Main Street.
A reminder for jury duty
Oktibbeha County Circuit Court officials want to remind registered voters who are summoned for jury duty this week to be present at the Courthouse Annex this morning.
Circuit Clerk’s Office staff said a pool of 225 jurors has been pulled for this week, but several have already been excused for medical reasons, being over 65 or for personal hardship. A personal hardship that would excuse a person from jury duty means a person owns his or her own business and would have to close in order to serve, not being off from work.
One common problem court officials have encountered in the past is that many residents do not open the jury summons sent to them by mail, though the envelopes were stamped "important," said Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis. A jury summons should be taken seriously, McGinnis said.
"We have to be able to seat jury panels as necessary for Circuit Court proceedings," McGinnis said.
Any residents who do not report at the designated time Monday for jury duty forfeit any jury pay they would have received for the day, McGinnis said.
"People summoned for jury duty need to now that if they do not show up, they can be held by the judge in contempt of court and be subject to being fined or imprisoned at the judge's discretion," McGinnis said.
Anyone with questions about a jury summons or jury duty requirements can call the Circuit Clerk's Office at 323-1356.
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 29 October 2007 )
|
