Saturday Oct. 13,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 247
Pleasant Today
Tonight
86
65
20% chance rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Jury finds man guilty of capital murder Burleson will spend rest of his life in prison BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
BOONEVILLE — Charles David Burleson II will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of a Thrasher man after jurors took less than two hours Friday afternoon to convict him of capital murder in Prentiss County Circuit Court. The defendant was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Circuit Judge James L. Roberts Jr. following his conviction in connection with the robbery and murder of Stephen Holley of Thrasher in May 2010. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, which is the only other
possible sentence for capital murder in Mississippi. Burleson’s prison time will also include an additional 10 year sentence after a previously suspended sentence in a prior burglary conviction from Pontotoc County was reinstated following Friday’s verdict. The defendant stood quietly flanked by his attorneys and shook his head no when asked by the judge if he had anything to say before the sentence was imposed. Burleson was charged, along with Jeremy Keith Huguley of Rienzi, with capital murder in connection with Holley’s death.
Holley was found unconscious and unresponsive in his Thrasher home on May 15, 2010. Authorities say he had been struck with some type of metal object and the home robbed. He died on May 21, 2010, at North Mississippi Medical Center of his injuries. District Attorney Trent Kelly said Huguley is scheduled to be tried separately in the case at a later date. A third defendant, Kayla Cartwright of Booneville, is charged as an accessory after the fact to capital murder in the case and will also be tried later. Kelly said both cases remain active and will be placed on the
court docket for future action. Prosecutors have argued throughout the trial Burleson was directly involved in the robbery that led to Holley’s death. Capital murder in Mississippi is defined as a murder committed during the course of another felony such as the robbery. Prosecutors reminded jurors the law does not require them to prove who actually struck the fatal blow but rather only that the defendant was a party to the crime out of which the death occurred. In their closing arguments prosecutors laid out their case, describing how witnesses in-
cluding Cartwright showed Burleson went to Holley’s house with Huguley and was seen coming out of the house with both a pipe believed to be the murder weapon and other items taken from the house. The items were later recovered from Cartwright’s residence, Huguley’s residence and the residence of Huguley’s friend Tammy Clark. Defense attorney John Helmert told jurors in his closing prosecutors failed throughout the trial to make any direct connection to Burleson and instead Please see GUILTY | 2
Jacinto family loses everything in house fire
Supervisors discuss options for old jail
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors is looking at options for the old county jail facility. The board is considering whether to do renovation work on the Fulton Drive building and rent it to another entity. The Department of Corrections is interested in possibly renting space in the building, and there has also been talk of possibly moving the Board of Supervisors meetings to the building. The latter would address concerns with access to the current board room, which is upstairs in the chancery building. Stemming from the May 2010 flooding disaster, the county will receive FEMA funding for work on the building including replacement of electrical outlets, drywall and flooring, as well as painting. In Friday's meeting of the board, supervisors approved the purchase of flood insurance for the building and will continue discussions on the building’s future use. Inmate labor is likely to be used on the renovation work. In other business: ■ The board made three new appointments to The Alliance Board of Directors, with Grover Hardin replacing Please see JAIL | 2
CHS Homecoming Parade
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Freshman Maid Anyaah Copeland elected to “Fight Like a Girl” during the Corinth High School Homecoming Parade Thursday through downtown Corinth. The Warriors tangled with Tishomingo County in their annual homecoming contest on Friday night.
A Jacinto family lost its home in a fire Thursday night. Jacinto Volunteer Fire Department received the call at 9:22 p.m. about a fire at the County Road 300 home of John Latch and his family. “The house was fully involved when we got on the scene,” said Jacinto Fire Chief Jackie Pharr. The Jacinto crew, supported by personnel from the Glen Volunteer Fire Department, fought the flames, but in the end everything not burned in the house suffered extensive water damage. The firefighters had to wait a few moments before combating the blaze up close because of the explosion of ammunition in the home, a common occurrence in house fires in the area. “Apparently he’s a hunter,” said Pharr. “The ammo was popping and exploding, but the fire consumed it pretty quickly.” Burning ammunition can pose a danger to firefighters if they are standing nearby when the rounds explode, said Pharr. “It’s not so much the projectiles, unless they’re still inside the gun. That way it’s just like pulling the trigger. With loose ammo the problem is with exploding casPlease see FIRE | 2
150 households take part in hazardous waste day BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Taking advantage of last Saturday’s Household Hazardous Waste Day, local residents brought hundreds of pounds of toxic chemicals, thousands of pounds of electronics and other items that might otherwise have ended up in the landfill. Funded by a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality grant, it was the first such event held in Corinth in nine years. A total of 150 different households brought materials to the event for proper disposal or recycling. With the good response, Alliance Community Development Director Andrea Rose said Keep Corinth-Alcorn Beauti-
ful will be looking at when and how to bring back disposal events in the future. “The items collected most were paint and electronics,” said Rose. There was such a big response for electronics — computers, DVD players, old VCRs and the like — that disposal events just for those items may be held in the future. The electronic items alone filled a truck at the event. The preliminary count showed that the event collected 1,900 pounds of pesticide; 80 gallons of flammable liquids; 1,800 pounds of flammable aerosols; 10 yards of paint; 150 Please see WASTE | 2
Submitted photo
Workers with Complete Environmental collect liquid materials at the Household Hazardous Waste Day.
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 13 Wisdom...... 12
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports...... 10
On this day in history 150 years ago Gen. J.E.B. Stuart takes his Confederate army on a ride around the Union Army of the Potomac. A frustrated President Lincoln asks General McClellan, “Are you not over cautious when you assume you can not do what the enemy is constantly doing?”