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Thread: Derek Terrell Burt Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced to LWOP in 2008 AL Slaying of Harry Ricks, Sr.

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Derek Terrell Burt Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced to LWOP in 2008 AL Slaying of Harry Ricks, Sr.




    Judge hears motions in murder-for-hire case

    A man accused of murder and trying to hire a hitman spent Wednesday afternoon inside a Colbert County courtroom. Derek Burt is charged with capital murder for the 2008 shooting death of Harry Ricks. Investigators said after his arrest, Burt tried to hire a hitman to kill two members of the Ricks family.

    The hearing lasted more than an hour, during which time the Colbert County District Attorney and Burt's attorneys addressed multiple motions that had been filed in the case. The judge went through each individual motion, allowing attorneys from both sides to comment.

    The more than a dozen motions focused mainly on discovery and procedures including a possible sequestration of jury members.

    Burt could face the death penalty if convicted in the case. The trial is set to begin Oct. 7.

    http://www.waff.com/story/23342078/j...icitation-case
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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Capital murder trial to begin

    By Tom Smith
    Senior Staff Writer
    timesdaily.com

    TUSCUMBIA — Jury selection will begin this morning in the capital murder trial of a Jefferson County man charged in the 2008 robbery and shooting death of a Colbert County man.

    Derek Terrell Burt, 32, 7820 Martin Luther King Drive, Leeds, faces five counts of capital murder: capital murder/robbery, capital murder/burglary and three counts of capital murder/kidnapping.

    Burt is accused of killing Harry Ricks Sr. inside his Colbert County home on Nov. 25, 2008.

    Burt was arrested July 31, 2012, in Birmingham and transported to Colbert County Jail, where he has been since that time.

    Reports indicate Burt was linked to Ricks’ death by DNA evidence collected at the residence. Ricks lived at a home in the 1700 block of Gate Six Road in Muscle Shoals.

    Investigators said three men armed with guns broke into Ricks’ home during the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2008, in an apparent robbery attempt.

    Authorities said Ricks, 41, was reportedly killed as he tried to escape and get help for his wife and daughter.

    The robbers used duct tape and zip ties to bind Ricks’ wife, Rita, and their daughter in a bedroom. Rita Ricks also was hit in the head with a gun, authorities said.

    Neither Ricks’ wife nor his daughter was seriously injured.

    Colbert County sheriff’s officials said at the time of Burt’s arrest, statements gathered during the investigation indicated the men were trying to rob Ricks because they thought he had a large sum of money at the house.

    Burt also faces charges of criminal solicitation after authorities said deputies recovered a letter Burt wrote in November 2012, asking someone to kill two members of Ricks’ family.

    Retired Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May said at the time the letter was discovered information in the letter mentioned that two members of the Ricks family saw the person who attacked them without a mask.

    The letter contained Ricks’ home address and physical descriptions of family members.

    According to courthouse officials, Burt is accused of writing in the letter that “without witnesses, state would not have a case.”

    Investigators said the letter was for someone from out of state.

    The criminal solicitation charge is still pending.

    Burt, who remains in the Colbert County Jail without bail, faces the death penalty if convicted.

    The case will be held in Circuit Judge Hal Hughston’s courtroom.

    http://www.timesdaily.com/news/capit...82668cfc5.html

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Leeds man pleads guilty to capital murder in deadly Colbert County home invasion

    Burt Derek Terrell of Leeds pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder on Monday. A Colbert County judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

    Terrell, 34, originally faced five counts of capital murder following a deadly home invasion on Gate 6 Road in Colbert County. Authorities allege Terrell broke into the home of Harry Ricks Sr. on Nov. 25, 2008. Colbert County Assistant District Attorney Angela Hulsey said Ricks was home with his wife and 13-year-old daughter when Terrell and at least two others broke in sometime during the overnight hours.

    Terrell shot and killed Ricks sometime during the invasion. He was identified by DNA evidence left at the scene, prosecutors say.

    Hulsey explained that the original five counts related to the different theories of how the capital murder charge applied, such as murder during a theft or murder during an abduction for example. The indictment lists five different scenarios under the five counts.

    Hulsey said after his arrest, Terrell unsuccessfully tried to send a letter to solicit a hit man to kill Ricks wife and daughter to eliminate them as witnesses.

    Hulsey said Terrell is thought to have had at least two accomplices when he broke into the home in 2008. These other suspects have never been identified.

    Ricks also had a son, Harry Ricks Jr., who was not at home during the attack.

    http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...l#incart_river
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