Yalobusha County deputies broke up a fight on the courthouse lawn in Coffeeville back in February.
COFFEEVILLE – Two-hundred and twenty-five jury summons will be mailed this week for a joint trial scheduled Dec. 9 for two defendants charged in the 2023 murder of Chauncey Armstrong in Coffeeville. The summons will be mailed to registered voters who reside in the First Judicial District.
Cousins Zavion Spearman and Anthony Spearman are scheduled for trial after they were each indicted for first degree murder by deliberate design and conspiracy to commit murder. The charges came after Armstrong was gunned down in broad daylight on Kennedy Street in Coffeeville on March 30, 2023.
A third defendant in the case, Lakendrick Spearman, was also indicted for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the same homicide. Lakendrick Spearman, the brother of Anthony Spearman, pleaded guilty to a lessor charge, Accessory After the Fact to First Degree Murder, on August 29. According to court documents, Lakendrick Spearman is scheduled to testify as a witness in the Dec. 9 trial. He is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 27.
The trial will be held at the Coffeeville courthouse and courtroom security is expected to be enhanced. In February, the defendants were in court for a pre-trial hearing when a brawl erupted outside on the courthouse lawn. A second incident led to another brawl in the courtroom hall in August.
Yalobusha County supervisors recommended paying additional deputies to beef up courtroom security where there are high profile cases.
“For the safety of our personnel, our judges, lawyers and everyone involved,” Board President Cayce Washington noted during an August meeting.
