Mississippi Criminal Law BlogAccording 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.”
The defendant is expected to serve a full 20 years in the Florida Department of Corrections under the terms of the state’s 10-20-Life statute, which mandates strict and lengthy prison sentences for felonies committed with the use of a gun. In this case, the defendant shooting himself in the leg appears to have been found by the judge to have triggered the statute.
Burglary in Mississippi
According to Mississippi Code § 97-17-23, the penalties for burglary are as follows: (1) Every person who shall be convicted of breaking and entering the dwelling house or inner door of such dwelling house of another, whether armed with a deadly weapon or not, and whether there shall be at the time some human being in such dwelling house or not, with intent to commit some crime therein, shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than three (3) years nor more than twenty-five (25) years.
(2) Every person who shall be convicted of violating subsection (1) under circumstances likely to terrorize any person who is actually occupying the house at the time of the criminal invasion of the premises shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than ten (10) years nor more than twenty-five (25) years.
If you have been convicted of burglary or any similar crime, it is crucial to enlist the help of an attorney. At Carmody Law Office, we can help you!
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