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Thread: Capital Murder Trial Set for Alonzo Stewart in 2014 MS Murder of Ruth Helen Harrion

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    Capital Murder Trial Set for Alonzo Stewart in 2014 MS Murder of Ruth Helen Harrion



    Ruth Helen Harrion


    Alonzo Stewart


    Lee Vance: This is the beginning of the healing process


    By David Kenney & Annette Peagler - Posted by Bob Burks

    JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) - Interim Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance announced the arrest of a suspect in the capital murder case of Ruth Helen Harrion. Twenty-nine year old Alonzo Stewart is charged with capital murder and house burglary.

    Family members of Harrion say their prayers have been answered.

    "Today has been a good day, it's just tragic that it had to come like this," Angela Harrion, Ruth Helen Harrion's daughter explain.

    Vance says the focus now is to restore Bel Air residents trust in their police department.

    "Because of what happened last week there's a lot of disappointment, distrust, anger about the death of this lady, this fine woman, so this is the beginning of the healing process," Vance explained.

    And although progress has been made in the case, the family still has a lot of unanswered questions.

    "We still have so many questions about why her calls for help didn't get her the help that she needed," said Angela Harrion. "This is pain we hope no other family will ever have to go through."

    On Monday, Precinct 3 officers responded to the 2000 block of Montebello Drive in reference to a house burglary in progress. Upon officers' arrival, they discovered that the suspect attempted to make entry into the home by breaking out the window.

    The suspect was attempting to remove the burglar bars from the home, but fled the scene before officers' arrival. A description of the suspect was given and he was taken into custody after a brief foot chase.

    The suspect was questioned about last week's murder and the attempted house burglary, and reportedly confessed to being responsible for both crimes. Stewart also confessed to investigators that he dropped the gun in a ditch off Queensroad Avenue.

    Just after 1pm Monday, JPD officers along with a group of recruits converged on the area, to search the ditch on foot. After 15 minutes of searching, applauding from the recruits signaled to a group of residents that the weapon had been found.

    They began applauding too, and congratulating Interim Police Chief Lee Vance for the arrest, and for the leadership in finding the piece of evidence. The recruit who found the gun, Jeremy Jackson, received a special thank you and handshake from Chief Vance.

    The suspect is being charged with capital murder and attempted house burglary. Vance says Stewart lived only a few houses down from where Harrion lived

    According to the MS Department of Corrections, Stewart has been in trouble with police before. He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine in 2008.

    "This arrest was the result of a coordinated effort between the community and the Jackson Police Department," Vance said. "We're putting all would-be offenders on notice -- if you commit a crime in our city, we will find you and put you in jail. Our solemn pledge to the community is that we will solve all crimes committed in our city."

    Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber said the department's swift action sends a strong message to the community.

    "Our police department is committed to solving heinous crimes such as these, and has made the safety of our citizens the highest priority," Yarber said. "Thanks to our police department and the community, this predator is now off the streets."

    On Tuesday, July 12, 2014, an unknown suspect forced entry into the home of murder victim Ruth Helen Harrion located in the 2700 block of Kingsroad Avenue.

    The mode of operation used to attempt entry into the Montebello Drive home was the same used to gain entry into the Kingsroad Avenue home. Burglar bars were removed, and a window was broken.

    Sixty-seven year old Harrion was found dead behind her home. She had been beaten and shot.

    http://www.wdam.com/story/26072296/p...-murder-weapon
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Bond denied for man accused of the murder of Ruth Helen Harrion

    Posted by Mary Grace Eppes

    JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) - The man arrested for the brutal murder of 67-year-old Ruth Helen Harrion went before a judge on Tuesday and was denied bond.

    29-year-old Alonzo Stewart is charged with capital murder.

    Authorities say he lived a few houses away from Harrion in the Bel-Air Subdivision in Northwest Jackson.

    Stewart left court without responding to reporters questions. He will be back in court in two weeks for a preliminary hearing.

    Monday morning Precinct 3 officers arrested Stewart for an attempted house burglary on Montebello Drive.

    He was then named as the prime suspect in the capital murder case of Harrion.

    Hinds county court records also reveal more about Stewart's criminal past, which includes multiple charges, that date back to 2002.

    He served over a year in jail for possession of cocaine.

    He was also charged with receiving stolen property, and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

    In 2010, Stewart was ordered by a judge to attend alcohol and drug treatment, and to continue treatment for mental illness.

    I talked to his family members today who say he has battled problems with mental illness since he graduated from high school.

    They also say he's a non-violent person, and they're struggling to understand how he could be involved in the murder.

    http://www.wdam.com/story/26081886/b...-helen-harrion
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    May 28, 2019

    She called 911. Then she was killed. $1M awarded to family in suit against Jackson


    By Jimmie E. Gates
    Mississippi Clarion Ledger

    A Hinds County Circuit Court jury has awarded $1 million to the family of a 67-year-old Jackson woman killed in 2014 after family members and others say Jackson police bungled the woman's 911 call about a prowler.

    "If they would have followed policy and procedures, more likely than not, it would have saved her life," said attorney Dennis Sweet III, who represented Ruth Helen Harrion's family members.

    "I hope this verdict sends a message that the city needs to get things right," Sweet said after the verdict.

    The trial started Monday, and the jury deliberated for about an hour and 40 minutes before returning the verdict Friday night.

    Five of Harrion's children held up a family poster board with pictures of their late mother following the verdict. Her other child lives in California and wasn't at the Hinds County Courthouse.

    "This verdict was for my mother," said Angela Harrion of Jackson.

    The lawsuit said that after Harrion called 911 to report a prowler, the dispatcher failed to keep her on the phone, failed to ask the location of the prowler and whether she could see the prowler. The suit also said officers dispatched to Harrion’s residence failed to make contact with her and failed to search the perimeter of the home prior to leaving the residence.

    Alonzo Stewart, 33, is charged with capital murder in Harrion's death. He confessed to the crime, according to authorities, and told police he was in Harrion's home when the officers came and left.

    Then-Jackson Police Chief Lindsey Horton said in 2014 that JPD mishandled the case. At the time, he told the Clarion Ledger that the two officers failed to thoroughly check the property from which the call had originated.

    One of Harrion's family members discovered her body behind her Kingsroad Avenue home about 11 hours later.

    She had been beaten, strangled and shot in the face, according to Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham Stewart. The victim's neck also had been broken, Grisham Stewart said, and it appeared she had been sexually assaulted

    Stewart hasn't gone to trial based on questions about his mental competency. The last entry in his court file shows Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd has set a Dec. 2 trial date.

    Harrion had called Jackson dispatchers at 2:23 a.m on July 15, 2014, to report a prowler, according to a 911 tape obtained by the Clarion Ledger. When the officers arrived 8 minutes later, nobody answered the door, and they left.

    "They should have made contact with the complainant," Horton said in 2014. "They should have made contact with her to make sure of her of her welfare. But they did not do that."

    "We have a practice and policy in place," he said, "and in this occasion I think they did not follow that."

    The dispatcher, Debra Goldman, and officers Derrick Evans and Tommie Heard were later fired but reinstated by the Jackson Civil Service Commission, according to court records.

    Assistant City Attorney Richard Davis argued in court that the plaintiffs couldn't identify a policy that was violated, an alleged unconstitutional policy or act where Harrion's constitutional rights were violated.

    Davis said the only person to blame is Stewart for Harrion's murder.

    "i sympathize with this family, but there is someone responsible, a man who shouldn't have been walking the streets of Jackson," Davis said of Stewart.

    In a statement released on behalf of the family Friday night through Sweet, they said they were still still seeking justice.

    "The family of Ruth Helen Harrion and her attorneys are pleased that the City of Jackson was found to be responsible for failing to react to her 911 call appropriately. This, however, is just one part of the justice they are seeking. Family members continue to wait for the man who brutally raped and killed Mrs. Harrion to be held accountable for his crimes

    https://eu.clarionledger.com/story/n...ll/3705837002/

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    Six years later: Family awaits justice in murder of Ruth Helen Harrion

    By Deidra Brisco
    WJTV News


    JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Jackson family has been waiting since 2014 for justice for the murder of their mother and for the man accused of killing her to go on trial.

    Six years ago, Ruth Helen Harrion was murdered at her Jackson home.

    “She was waiting on someone for assistance to help her, and we are still waiting on a process to help us,” said Harrion’s daughter, Angela Harrion.

    The case has been on hold for years. Now, it’s in the hands of the new Hinds County District Attorney, Jody Owens. Harrion’s daughter hopes that means there will be a new direction in the case.

    “It wasn’t actually reviewed and closed properly. So I hope and pray that this district attorney can actually get it to where it needs to go so we can get some peace.”

    On the day she was murdered, Harrion called Jackson police about a prowler outside her home. Responding officers did not find anyone. Hours later, Harrison was found dead. Alonzo Stewart, her neighbor, was arrested and charged with capital murder in the case.

    “He’s been at our home on several occasions. He’s assisted with cutting our grass, and my mother of course always tried to continue to help the community,” stated Angela. “She has been the community. She has raised this community. She’s fed this community.

    I mean does that count for anything to at least give her justice?”

    The family is awaiting a status update on the case, which is set for December 15th.

    https://www.wjtv.com/news/six-years-...helen-harrion/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Family of woman who died after 911 operator hung up phone fights to change system

    By Ross Adams
    WAPT News

    JACKSON, Miss. — Helen Harrion's family is looking for help from lawmakers at the state capitol. They want to make sure that no other family experiences their pain and heartbreak after losing a loved one because of 911 negligence.

    "And I don’t want anything else happening like what happened to my mom," said Monica Harrion, daughter of Helen Harrion.

    Monica Harrion said that she is constantly reliving the nightmare of the day that her mother, Helen Harrion, died seven years ago.

    She has blamed a 911 operator for hanging up the phone on the 67-year-old west Jackson woman when she called to report a prowler outside her home in July 2014.

    "It was from 2014 and up to now they’re doing the same thing hanging up and not staying on the phone with you I just can’t believe it," Monica said.

    They believe the operator should have stayed on the phone until police arrived. Officers later found Harrion dead outside of her home.

    Harrion's neighbor Alonzo Stewart was charged with capital murder and burglary.

    "He threw her out of the window the same window that he’s broke into and broke her neck," said Monica. "She lost her life because law enforcement didn't do their job properly."

    State Senator Hillman Frazier drafted a bill called Helen's law after her family reached out to him to help change the system.

    "This bill will simply require them to have training in 911 responses and come up with written policies and if they don’t follow their policies the state and federal funding could be withheld from them," said Senator Frazier.

    "My family we wanted to do something to make sure this doesn’t happen again," Harrion said.

    Senator Frazier said that he will be consulting with Harrion's family. He could introduce his bill as early as the net legislative session.

    A jury awarded Harrion's family $1 million in a civil lawsuit against the city in 2019.

    Steward has yet to stand in the case because of questions about whether he is mentally competent.

    https://www.wapt.com/article/family-...ystem/36411593
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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