Jackson city leaders applaud the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and other federal agencies that are joining to help the Jackson Police Department combat crime after the city experienced a record number of homicides in the last two years.
“I welcome their involvement in helping fight crime in the city of Jackson because they have immense resources and capability that we don’t have,” said Virgi Lindsay, who represents Ward 7 on the Jackson City Council and serves as president.
“They are going to pursue federal crimes and that takes things to a different level. Perpetrators will be subject to federal prosecution.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working with federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service as well as JPD and the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office, said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Darren J. LaMarca.
“They are pulling together to investigate side-by-side with JPD to see if some of these crimes are federal crimes as well and, if they are, we intend to prosecute in federal court where sentences have to be served 85 percent,” he said. “There’s no 50 percent, 25 percent.”
Jackson had 155 homicides in 2021, and at least five suspects were under the age of 18. There have been five homicides in 2022, as of Jan. 10.
Carjackings, felons in possession of firearms, drug offenses and robberies of businesses as well as violent crimes committed by gangs under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act are some of the cases the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes.
“We’re looking at carjackings and those people responsible for carjackings occurring in Jackson,” LaMarca said.
Prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office packs a punch because offenders are not offered bail, provided some requirements are met, and cases go to trial quickly, said Ashby Foote, who represents Ward 1 on the Jackson City Council.
“We’ve got to get the dangerous people off the street,” he said. “That’s constructive.”
When an offender is taken into federal custody, there is a detention hearing to determine if the individual arrested is a danger to society or police, LaMarca said.
“If we prove either one of those at the detention hearing then the federal court has the authority to detain that person until they have a trial, which means they don’t have bail,” he said.
Under the Speedy Trial Act, the federal court must be prepared to have trial within 70 days after an individual is arrested and brought into federal custody, LaMarca said, noting that there are continuances and reasons for continuances.
“There is no parole, no suspended sentence in federal court,” he said.
Lindsay credits JPD and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office for having conversations with federal and state agencies about the need for assistance, given that JPD is short staffed.
“There were a lot of people asked for federal assistance, my being one of them,” she said. “We knew we needed it.”
Congressman Bennie Thompson, who “has steered some resources our way and made some connections for us,” was also helpful, she said.
Foote said he hopes this federal initiative, which is known as the “Violent Gun Reduction and Interdiction Program,” will make a difference with carjackings.
“That is especially terrorizing to citizens who are used to living in a safe community,” said Foote, who advocated for JPD getting help from federal law enforcement agencies.
Foote said he hopes that the program will lead to the arrests of felons in possession of firearms, which would also make the city safer.
“There is way too much gunfire in the city,” he said.
Katherine Tate, a Jackson resident, said she will wait and see what kind of impact the program has on crime in the city.
She has firsthand experience: She pulled a gun and stopped armed robbers at a neighbor’s house on Brecon Drive in 2021 and recalls a drive-by shooting that occurred nearby in 2020.
