Man charged in slaying may be released if DA doesn't hurry
Hinds County judge says grand jury must get case by April 30
By Jimmie E. Gates
The Clarion Ledger (MS)
February 13, 2007
The case of a Jackson man charged with killing his girlfriend must be presented to a grand jury by April 30 or the man will be released from jail on his own recognizance, a Hinds County judge said Monday.
But Hinds County District Attorney Faye Peterson told Judge William Barnett that there is no way the case can be presented to a grand jury by April 30.
"We are waiting on the final autopsy report and the ballistics report, which could take up to four months," Peterson said.
Cleveland Ellis III, 19, is charged with murder in the Jan. 11 shooting death of Crystal Coleman, 23.
Barnett said at Ellis' preliminary hearing that there was probable cause to send the case to a grand jury for possible indictment. Also, he set Ellis' bond at $100,000. After Ellis' arrest last month, his bond was set in Jackson Municipal Court at $500,000.
Since Barnett began presiding over preliminary hearings last month, he has pushed for cases to be sent to a grand jury as soon as possible.
Peterson said she will file a motion asking Barnett to reconsider his order that could lead to Ellis being released on his own recognizance.
But Peterson said it may become a moot point whether Ellis is released from jail after April 30, if he posts the $100,000 bond.
Barnett said that since he had found probable cause to send the case to a grand jury, he believes the case could be presented without the final autopsy and ballistics reports.
Peterson later said she wants the information to substantiate the murder charge against Ellis instead of possibly having the charge reduced to manslaughter.
Ellis' attorney, Tom Royals, said there is no evidence for a murder charge. He said the testimony during the hearing suggested Coleman's death was an accident or manslaughter, not murder.
Coleman's death was Jackson's first homicide of 2007.
Family members found Coleman dead in the passenger seat of a burgundy Toyota Camry outside her south Jackson apartment.
Jackson Police Detective Tyree Jones testified that Ellis, accompanied by his mother, turned himself in to police a day after the shooting.
In his statement to police, Ellis said he and Coleman had been together for approximately three hours. He said they got into a car to go to his apartment. He said when he was getting out of the car, a gun he had in his pocket went off, striking Coleman.
But Jones said Ellis didn't call police or paramedics to report the shooting and seek help for Coleman.
Coleman was apparently just left in the car and not found until the next morning, Jones said.
"The preliminary autopsy report wasn't consistent with it being an accident," Jones said of the shooting. "She had powder burns on the side of her arm ... someone had to point a gun to her side."
Other than the preliminary autopsy report, police have no other evidence to suggest the shooting wasn't an accident, Royals said.
Royals said Ellis not calling police or paramedics doesn't mean he intentionally killed Coleman.
Some relatives of Coleman's wore T-shirts with her picture on them along with the date she was born and the date she died. They appeared upset at the possibility of Ellis getting out of jail, but they wouldn't comment. Coleman has three young children who are living with family members.