Brothers’ Trial In Highway Murder Is May 7
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WATER VALLEY – Barring a last minute continuance, 250 jury summons will be mailed out next week by the Yalobusha County Circuit Clerk’s office in preparation for the May 8 trial for two men charged in the March 28, 2020 death of Barney Edward Frost, Jr. Brothers Jarvis Roberson and Geraldo Roberson were each indicted for first degree murder (deliberate design) and conspiracy to commit murder by a grand jury in the Second Judicial District (Water Valley) on Sept. 30, 2021.
Frost was gunned down on Hwy. 7 following a high-speed chase that started in Lafayette County. The chase occurred after a non-fatal shooting earlier that night on County Road 328 in the neighboring county during a dispute believed connected to high stakes betting on street racing. Frost was a passenger in a vehicle that fled and headed south on Hwy. 7. A second car pursued the vehicle and numerous rounds were fired in the chase that passed through Water Valley on the bypass and continued several miles south of town. The pursuit ended near Reedy Acres Baptist Children’s Village when Frost was fatally struck by a round that entered the vehicle through the back window. The driver pulled over, dialed 911 and hid until the scene was secured by deputies and officers from Coffeeville and Water Valley police departments.
Jarvis Roberson and Geraldo Roberson were arrested almost 18 months later after they were indicted. At the time of the arrests, former District Attorney, the late John Champion, told the Herald that the investigation was delayed due to the lengthy wait for cell phone records.
Both men posted $250,000 bonds on October 21, 2021, and were released from custody.
The district attorney’s office offered the defendants an opportunity to plea to a lesser offense, manslaughter, during a hearing last September. Manslaughter carries a 20-year maximum sentence
“I want a trial,” Jarvis Roberson told Circuit Judge Smith Murphey during the Sept. 23, 2022, hearing.
“So in doing that, you understand that the State will likewise be pursuing you on the Count 1 charge, conspiracy to commit murder, as well as Count 2 which would be the first degree murder charge that carries a potential life sentence?” Judge Murphey asked.
“Yes sir,” Jarvis Roberson answered.
Geraldo Roberson also rejected the plea offer for a reduced charge of manslaughter.
“…by rejecting that, you are in fact exposing yourself to a potential life-plus sentence,” Judge Murphey also asked Geraldo Roberson.
“Yes sir,” Geraldo Roberson answered, acknowledging he fully understood that if he is convicted of the two counts he could be sentenced to life in prison.
“Fair enough. Like I said, I don’t know what happened on March 28, 2020, involving Barney Edward Frost. That is for the State to prove,” Judge Murphey told the defendant.
Geraldo Roberson is represented by attorney Kevin Horan and Jarvis Roberson is represented by attorney Rhea Tannehill, Jr.
The planned trial will be the first murder trial in the county since April, 2015, when Jermaine Crump was convicted of the brutal shooting of his sister-in-law, Crystal Crump, following a three-day trial.
Another murder trial is scheduled in September in a high-profile case for the man accused of killing a former state representative. Billy Brooks was indicted for first degree arson in the Dec. 26, 2020 fire at a mobile home located at 12 Pat Drive in the Boat Landing community west of Water Valley. An occupant, Kristina Michelle Jones, was discovered inside the home after firefighters extinguished the blaze. Her death has not been ruled a homicide. Brooks was also indicted for first degree murder in the June 13, 2021, death of former state lawmaker Ashley Henley. Henley, the sister-in-law of Jones, was outside the burned-out trailer on Pat Drive when she was fatally shot in the head. Brooks lived directly across the street from the burned out property when the crimes occurred.
The arson charge and murder charge will be tried together during the September trial.
Brooks’ case was initially set for trial last year, but continuances pushed it back until Sept. 5. Circuit Judge Smith Murphey granted the latest continuance at the request of both the district attorney’s office and Brooks’ attorney, Bradley Peeples. Brooks has been out on a $250,000 bond since last July.
