On Tuesday, a trial for two white men in Mississippi will begin on charges that they chased and shot at a Black FedEx driver who had just delivered a box to a house. Both Brandon Case and his father, Gregory Charles Case, were charged with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy, and shooting into the vehicle of D’Monterrio Gibson in a November 2021 indictment.
Gibson was shot and killed in January 2022.
The 24-year-old Gibson walked away unscathed from the incident. But people in Brookhaven, which is roughly 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of the state capital of Jackson, took to social media to complain of racism after the chase and firing. The court proceeding will be held in Brookhaven.
Gibson said during a press conference held several days after the incident that he had been delivering a box to the residence in question while dressed in a FedEx uniform and operating a rented unmarked FedEx van. When he was leaving, he saw a white pickup truck leave the driveway of another residence on the same large property, he claimed.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Trial commences for 2 white men accused of chasing, shooting at Mississippi Black FedEx driver via @foxnews https://t.co/DmRfRU9TEq
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) August 15, 2023
While exiting the driveway, Gibson claims the pickup driver attempted to cut him off. He claims he avoided the driver by swerving, but then ran into a second man who pointed a gun at the van and waved for him to pull over. According to Gibson, the man opened fire on the van and the parcels inside as he drove away. According to him, the white pickup followed him all the way to Interstate 55 near Brookhaven before giving up the chase.
Attorney Carlos Moore, who represented Gibson in a federal complaint, drew parallels between the incident and the 2020 shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was running empty-handed through a Georgia subdivision before being cornered by three white strangers.
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U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III rejected Moore’s January 2023 lawsuit on behalf of Gibson for $5 million on Thursday. FedEx, the city of Brookhaven, Police Chief Kenny Collins, Brandon Case, and Gregory Charles Case were all named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Jordan stated that Gibson’s lawyer did not provide sufficient evidence that Gibson was the victim of racial discrimination on the part of FedEx.
“The Cases’ alleged conduct is deplorable,” Jordan wrote. “But Gibson fails to state a viable claim against FedEx for which the Court would have original jurisdiction.” On Friday, Moore announced his intention to file suit in state court. He further added that Gibson is still on the payroll at FedEx and is currently absent due to workers’ compensation.
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