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Willie Jones
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Dustin Gray
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Austin Brookshire
November 24, 2020
Bond denied for Pearl River Co. man accused of capital murder
POPLARVILLE, Miss. (WLOX) - A Pearl River County man accused of capital murder will stay behind bars, despite telling a judge this week that he fears for his safety.
Dustin Gray appeared before Judge Prentiss Harrell on Monday for a bond reduction hearing. The judge heard arguments from both Gray and the prosecution on whether the bond should be reduced for the capital murder suspect or not.
The judge ultimately ended up ruling against Gray, siding with the prosecution against a bond reduction.
Gray and his 18-year-old brother Austin Brookshire are accused of robbing and murdering 28-year-old Willie Jones in July. Investigators say sometime during an eight-hour window on July 6-7, Dustin Gray and Brookshire shot Jones multiple times in the chest.
In a motion filed earlier this month, Gray said he has concerns for his safety after recently being transferred from Marion Walthall Correctional Facility to the Pearl River County Jail. Since arriving in Pearl River County, Gray said he has been held in solitary confinement with minimal contact with the environment and other people.
He also claimed that his calls and commissary privileges have been limited as is typically seen in prisoners who have already been convicted of a crime.
The isolation is having a significant and substantial negative impact upon his mental and physical condition, states Gray’s motion to the court. The document goes on to say that Gray’s treatment amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment” and amounts to punishment rather than just holding while awaiting trial.
In asking the court for a bond reduction, the motion also notes that Gray has lived his entire life in Pearl River County and is not a flight risk, and that bail should be granted because the proof that he is guilty is not evidence.
“Since this defendant is facing a potential death sentence, or life in prison, when he is convicted, he would likely flee the jurisdiction as he has done once before,” states the prosecution in its answer to Gray’s original motion.
The State of Mississippi successfully argued to the court on Monday that Gray is seen as a flight risk, reminding the judge that Gray and his wife Erica left the state after the murder of Willie Jones. The couple were apprehended in
Colorado and later extradited back to Mississippi to face charges connected to Jones’ murder.
Gray made that request despite a signed affidavit he reportedly gave the investigators that admitted to robbing and killing Jones, then led authorities to where Jones was buried.
Prosecutors also disputed Gray’s motion that there is not enough proof of his guilt, saying both Gray and his co-conspirator Austin Brookshier confessed to murdering Jones and stealing a large sum of money from him.
Prosecutors went on to point out what they say is a wealth of physical evidence against Gray, namely that the victim’s blood was found in the defendant’s vehicle, as well as projectiles and ammunition matching the bullets used to kill Jones.
“Simply put, the proof is overwhelming and the presumption great that this defendant is guilty of capital murder,” wrote the prosecution.
Brookshire is also charged with capital murder in the death of Willie Jones, whose body was found in Hancock County two weeks after he went missing.
Dustin Gray’s wife Erica and an unnamed teen are also charged with accessory after the fact in the capital murder case.
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