OXFORD - An Alabama woman was sentenced to more than 22 years in federal prison for her role in the robbery of a North Mississippi Post Office and the shooting of the Postmaster during the robbery. Angela Roy, 36, of Wilmer, Alabama was sentenced to 270 months incarceration for her part in the September 23, 2016, armed robbery and discharge of a firearm at the Randolph, Mississippi Post Office. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills sentenced Roy to serve consecutive 150 month and 120-month terms for aiding and abetting in the armed robbery and discharge of a firearm during that robbery.
U.S. Postal Inspectors, Pontotoc Sheriff’s Deputies, and agents from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation responded to 911 calls from a business neighboring the Randolph post office on September 23, 2016, when the Postmaster fled to the business after being shot during the robbery. Agents quickly converged on the Post Office and, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, identified Roy and her codefendant Thomas Scott as suspects. Evidence showed that Roy contacted the post office to make sure that it was open just minutes before she and Scott went to the building. Scott then entered the post office, pulled a gun and shot the Postmaster while Roy waited outside at the vehicle. Roy and Scott were arrested in Lockport, Louisiana on September 27, 2016 as they attempted to flee to Texas.
A jury in the Northern District convicted Roy at trial in October 2017. Thomas Scott, who pled guilty for his role in the same case, was sentenced in February to serve 195 months for committing the robbery and discharging the firearm.
U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar thanked the Pontotoc Police Department and Sheriff’s Department, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshal’s Office, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General for the United States Post Office for their efforts in investigating the case and apprehending the perpetrators.
Following the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Lamar stated: “The prosecution of violent criminals is always a top priority in this office and for this Administration. We appreciate the investigative efforts of our local, state and federal partners that helped insure that the individuals responsible for this heinous crime have been held accountable for their actions. We will continue to devote all available resources to see that those who seek gain by harming others in this community will not flourish or escape punishment for their violent acts.”
"Today's sentencing of Angela Roy reinforces the message that criminals directly endangering the lives or safety of Postal Service employees will never be tolerated," stated Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Houston Division. "The cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement was second to none. The Postal Inspection Service is fortunate to have such determined law enforcement partners working to ensure that Mississippi's post offices remain safe places to conduct business."
The case is an example of the ongoing efforts of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, which seeks to reduce violence and increase community safety through the combined efforts of local, state and federal investigators, prosecutors and community partners. The case was prosecuted by AUSA Paul Roberts and Robert H. Norman, Criminal Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Mississippi.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department announced today that they have completed a thorough, independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Antwun Shumpert on June 18, 2016, by Tupelo Police Department Officer Tyler Cook. This investigation revealed that the evidence is insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Cook violated federal civil rights laws. Accordingly, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against Cook.
Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division met with members of Shumpert’s family today to inform them of this decision.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a comprehensive, independent review of the circumstances related to Shumpert’s death. The investigation included a review of witness interviews; the autopsy report; crime-scene reports; photographs; surveillance video that recorded auxiliary areas of the crime scene; police radio traffic; incident reports; an interview with the medical examiner; and an interview with the officer.
In conducting the review, federal authorities were tasked with determining whether Cook violated federal law by willfully using unreasonable force against Shumpert. Under the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute, prosecutors would be required to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a law enforcement officer willfully deprived Shumpert of a constitutional right. To establish willfulness, federal authorities would be required to show that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. This is the highest standard of intent imposed by law. Mistake, misperception, negligence, necessity, or poor judgment are not sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation.
The evidence in this investigation showed that on June 18, 2016, the Tupelo Police Department was conducting a surveillance operation. At around 9:30 at night, officers observed a tan car stop for a short time in a motel parking lot before leaving. Officer Joseph Senter followed the car and noted that it did not properly use a turn signal and was missing a tag light, both of which are traffic violations. Officer Senter signaled to the car to stop, but the car traveled several more blocks before stopping. Immediately after Shumpert stopped the car, he fled on foot. Officer Senter ordered Shumpert to return to the vehicle, but he did not. Officer Senter began chasing Shumpert and radioed for assistance.
Cook was among the officers who responded to Officer Senter’s call for assistance. Cook stopped his car on Harrison Street and got out along with his patrol dog. The patrol dog picked up a scent and led Cook to a ditch behind a house at 916 Harrison Street. The house had a crawl space below it, and Cook saw a hand holding the door shut. Cook reported that he drew his weapon, opened the door to the crawl space, and saw Shumpert. He ordered Shumpert to come out or the dog would bite him, but Shumpert did not emerge. Cook then instructed the dog to bite Shumpert. The dog bit Shumpert on the arm, and Shumpert began punching the dog and grabbing its head. Shumpert escaped the dog by taking off his own shirt—which the dog had hold of—and ran out of the crawl space to tackle Cook.
Cook said he landed a couple of punches on Shumpert before Shumpert forced him to the ground. Once on the ground, Cook said that he was punching with both hands, including the hand that was holding his gun, and may have struck Shumpert with his gun. Cook described Shumpert as being on top of him and striking him in the face multiple times. Cook said that he “tried to fight back but I began to see stars and thought I was going to loose [sic] consciousness and I was in fear for my life.” Cook then remembers shooting his gun three or four times.
Three other officers, none of whom could see the incident, each reported hearing about four gunshots in quick succession. Three civilian witnesses heard the shooting as well, but none saw it. Two officers ran to the scene immediately after the shooting. Radio traffic shows that the officers called for medical support within two minutes of the shooting, and that Shumpert was transported to North Mississippi Medical Center several minutes after that. He died from the gunshot wounds about five hours later.
In this instance, there is no reliable evidence to contradict the assertion that Cook fired at Shumpert because he perceived him to be a deadly threat to himself and others. When officers first encountered Shumpert, they attempted to defuse the situation using repeated verbal commands to surrender. Cook also attempted to use non-lethal means, including the patrol dog. It was only when Shumpert punched Cook in the head and Cook feared losing consciousness that he fired his gun.
Based on a legal analysis of the record, the U.S. Attorney and the Civil Rights Division have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to establish that Cook acted with the requisite criminal intent. Therefore, after a careful and thorough review, experienced federal prosecutors have determined that the evidence is insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Cook violated 18 U.S.C. § 242. Accordingly, the review into this incident has been closed without prosecution.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Civil Rights Division, and the FBI are committed to investigating allegations of civil rights violations by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources required to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are fully and completely investigated. The department will aggressively prosecute criminal civil rights violations whenever there is sufficient evidence to do so.
GREENVILLE, Miss. – A man hired as the City Clerk for the Town of Coldwater was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on Wednesday for Wire Fraud. U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced George Nangah to serve the 21-month prison term consecutive to any state court term of imprisonment imposed in the Tate County Circuit Court and to pay $216,401.28 in restitution to the Town of Coldwater.
Nangah was hired to be the Town of Coldwater, Mississippi City Clerk, and over the course of three years, from 2014 to 2017, Nangah utilized an unauthorized Town of Coldwater debit card to purchase gift cards for airline tickets, hotels, and retail stores, none of which were used for the benefit of the Town of Coldwater. Nangah also used a charge account in the Town of Coldwater’s name at Best Buy, where Nangah purchased electronic equipment and gift cards not used or meant for use by the Town of Coldwater. Nangah made unauthorized payments to himself as well as one other person on the Town of Coldwater’s Clearing and General Fund bank accounts. Overall, $216,401.28 of loss was attributed to Nangah.
U.S. Attorney William C. Lamar noted that this prosecution was important for citizens throughout the State of Mississippi. “The citizens of Mississippi put a great deal of trust in our government employees and elected officials to utilize resources in a way that benefits the State and its residents. When city officials like Mr. Nangah take those resources and use them for their own personal gain, it is a betrayal of our State and every resident that they pledged to serve when they accepted their positions. Our office will continue to work alongside our federal, state and local partners to hold accountable those individuals who betray the public trust, steal our resources and embarrass our State” Lamar remarked.
This case was investigated by both the State of Mississippi Office of the State Auditor and the FBI. Following the sentencing, State Auditor Shad White also expressed the commitment of his office to holding accountable those individuals who betray the citizens that they were hired to serve. "It's good to see Mr. Nangah sentenced in this case that started as a joint investigation between the Auditor's office and federal agencies. Mr. Nangah embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from a small Mississippi town and engaged in multiple fraudulent schemes that hurt taxpayers who could not afford to see their money wasted."
FBI Jackson Division Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin also noted the importance of this prosecution. “Government officials are held to a higher standard and are expected to be good stewards of taxpayer money. When criminals use their position to line their own pockets, it erodes the public’s trust in government. Investigating public corruption in Mississippi continues to be a top priority for the FBI,” commented Sutphin.
The federal case was prosecuted by AUSA Parker S. Kline.
