Articles Posted in MS Criminal Laws

Motor vehicle thefts across 30 major cities have increased by 59% from 2019 to 2022, according to the statistics released by the Council on Criminal Justice earlier this year. CBS News reported that according to a criminologist, Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, “motor vehicle thefts had been plummeting” for decades and were on their way down, due largely in part to the fact newer technology made stealing a car more difficult. However, Dr. Rosenfeld disclosed that the downward trend quickly began reversing “right at the start” of the pandemic, and “has persisted through the end of 2022 with no sign of letting up.” 

According to the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, motor vehicle theft is the third most common property crime in the United States. Data from the city of Chicago indicates that most citywide carjackers are young adults, but that carjackings by juveniles has more than doubled, from 18% to 41%, between 2016 and 2021. Additionally, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported that there were more than 936,000 vehicle thefts in 2021, a 27% increase since 2019. Crime analysts like Dr. Rosenberg stress that “recent increases in property crime and carjacking require immediate action from law enforcement and policy makers.”

How Does Mississippi Define Carjacking?

Wednesday February 28, 2023, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced that a Michigan real estate investor has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $3 million in a wire and bankruptcy fraud scheme, The investor, Sean Phillip Tissue, was charged in October of 2022. Tissue was the owner of numerous companies including: The Centureon Companies, Greystone Home Builders, Sycamore Homes, Lenovo Homes, NROL Holdings, Phillip Ryan, Boardwalk Heights B2R and NROL Property and Investment.

According to the information unsealed at his guilty plea hearing, Tissue engaged in a real estate investment fraud scheme from 2015 to 2021. During the 6 year period, Tissue made or caused others to make false and fraudulent representations to induce potential investors from Israel, India, South Africa, and other countries. He convinced them to invest in real estate in Michigan, Texas, and other locations. Tissue also cause various false documents to be provided to investors, including fake deeds, fake wiring instructions, fake bank statements, fake leases, and fake inspection reports. He also provided a fake name to investors, “Sean Ryan”. Through this scheme, he made over $3 million.

Tissue is looking at a sentence of statutory maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 5 years in prison for bankruptcy fraud. “Sean Tissue orchestrated an elaborate scheme to defraud individual investors. He tried to avoid repaying those investors by declaring bankruptcy, and his lies and deceits continued in the bankruptcy proceeding,” Ison said in a statement.

Meth and fentanyl are both “hard drugs” that the State of Mississippi views seriously. If you are caught with this drug, you face serious consequences in the Magnolia State, especially if the authorities believe that you had an intent to distribute these drugs. But what exactly is the difference between meth and fentanyl in the eyes of the law? Which one is worse? Can you expect a lighter penalty for possessing one drug rather than the other?

Regardless of what type of drug you have been caught with, it makes sense to get in touch with a qualified defense attorney as soon as you are able. Virtually all drugs can lead to serious consequences in the State of Mississippi, and you need to get started with a defense strategy as soon as possible. 

Meth and Fentanyl are Both Controlled Substances

According to WLBT, on April 27, campus police at the University of Mississippi received reports of threats made by Kendrick Ford, a 36-year-old student, targeting faculty and staff members. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the university responded promptly, contacting the appropriate authorities to investigate the matter. Campus police located Ford shortly after the incident and launched a thorough investigation into the allegations.

Legal Consequences and Arrest

Upon concluding their investigation, the University of Mississippi’s Police Department formally charged Ford with making a terroristic threat. In Mississippi, making a terroristic threat is a serious criminal offense with significant legal implications. Mississippi’s Terroristic Threat law is found under § 97-7-75. This offense occurs when an individual makes a deliberate threat to commit a violent crime or cause bodily harm to another person. The threat becomes criminal when it creates a reasonable expectation or fear that the offense will be committed in the immediate future. To be considered a terroristic threat, the person making the threat must have the intent to intimidate or coerce either a civilian population or a specific segment of it. They may also intend to influence or affect the policy or conduct of a government unit, educational institution, business, or another segment of the civilian population through intimidation or coercion.

The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that law enforcement officers cannot simply enter your home, search your belongings, or seize your property without a valid reason. In order to conduct a search or seizure, police must have probable cause, which is defined as a reasonable belief that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed.

Probable cause is a fundamental principle of criminal law that protects individuals from unlawful arrests, searches, and seizures. It ensures that police officers cannot simply act on their own biases or hunches, but must have objective evidence to support their actions. Without probable cause, any evidence obtained through an illegal search or seizure would be inadmissible in court, and any charges brought against an individual would be dismissed.

In order to establish probable cause, police officers must have a sufficient basis for their belief that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed. This basis can come from a variety of sources, including personal observations, tips from informants, or circumstantial evidence. However, the key requirement is that the evidence must be reliable and trustworthy. A police officer cannot simply rely on a vague suspicion or a hunch to justify a search or seizure.

When faced with criminal charges, it is sometimes hard to understand the “ins and outs” of the process and what consequences you may face. Criminal charges are either labeled a felony or a misdemeanor, and it is important to know the difference as they carry significantly different jail times and fines.

One of the key differentiating factors between felonies and misdemeanors is the severity of the offense. Felonies involve crimes that are generally more severe, posing significant threats to individuals and society. Misdemeanors, on the other hand, encompass offenses that are less severe and typically do not result in extensive jail time or long-lasting consequences.

Penalties:

According to Colin Kalmbacher with Law and Crime, Justin McCall was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for a series of burglaries, partly because he shot himself in the leg. Justin McCall, 28, was found guilty on multiple burglary charges by retired judge Paul A. Rasmussen. The judge sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison on March 6, State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden said in a Monday press release. In relation to a series of burglaries that took place between October 2022 and January 2023, McCall was charged with 13 separate crime, the state attorney’s office said.

“In addition to stealing miscellaneous items from the vehicles he burglarized, McCall stole a firearm from an unsecured vehicle,” the press release notes. “McCall then proceeded to burglarize another vehicle with the stolen firearm in hand. While rummaging through that vehicle, McCall accidentally discharged the firearm and shot himself in the leg which resulted in McCall pleading for help from the very person whose vehicle he had just burglarized.” The firearm theft that resulted in his injury was apparently not his first, law enforcement noted. At the time of his arrest for the burglaries, 

McCall shot himself on Jan. 4, 2023 – he was found by OCSO deputies with a gunshot wound to the leg, the sheriff’s office said. He was then taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The police investigation that ensued revealed that the defendant had been captured by several home video surveillance cameras breaking into vehicles in the area. “A homeowner on Zach Avenue says she discovered someone had broken into her car and taken her purse,” the OCSO said in a press release at the time of the arrest. “Later while watching a neighbor’s surveillance video, she saw McCall on camera wearing her white Sperry boots, which had been in her home’s garage.”