BROOKHAVEN — Advocates gathered on the courthouse steps in support of D’Monterrio Gibson Wednesday morning. They called for justice in his case, alleged corruption in the Brookhaven Police Department and asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Brookhaven Police Department. 

Gibson said the case is not about race but purely what is right and wrong and holding people accountable for their actions. 

As previously reported by The Daily Leader, Gibson was a FedEx delivery driver on Jan. 24, 2022 when Brandon and Gregory Case allegedly fired upon him. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. so there was no daylight. 

Brandon, the son, and Gregory Case, the father, turned themselves in to the Brookhaven Police Department a week later. Police Chief Kenny Collins stated in an audio recording reported by the Mississippi Free Press that he did not want to put his officers in danger to arrest the Cases. BPD is still healing from the loss of Cpl. Zach Moak and James White who were shot and killed in the line of duty in 2018. The department dedicated a special memorial in Sept. 2022 for the officers. 

Advocates alleged the time allowed the defendants to hide any evidence such as shell casings and the handgun used in the shooting. Furthermore, Danyelle Holmes with the Mississippi Poor People’s campaign, alleged systematic corruption in the Brookhaven Police Department led to a miscarriage of justice. 

“Obstruction, collusion and deliberate sabotage by the law enforcement agency who should have protected him,” Holmes said. “From the start this case was never investigated properly. Ask yourself why. There is a protective network in the department.”

The father and son were indicted by a Grand Jury in Nov. 2022 on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy, and shooting at a motor vehicle. 

The case went to trial in Aug. 2023 where multiple violations of court orders by Vincent Fernando led to Judge David Strong to declare a mistrial. One of the biggest issues was a piece of surprise evidence that Fernando produced at the trial neither the defense nor district attorney’s office had seen before. 

Fernando had previously been ordered in pre-trial hearings to turn over all discovery, or evidence, to the DA’s office. As previously reported by The Daily Leader, the district attorney’s office had 227 pages of documents and 7 DVDs of evidence. 

It turns out that was not all of the evidence the Brookhaven Police Department had. Fernando turned in four new body cam videos as evidence on Sept. 19, 2024 less than a month before the start of the retrial. 

“It is egregious that the Brookhaven Police Department withheld key evidence leading to a mistrial,” Holmes said. “We believe Fernando was denied access to information by IT staff and the department attempted to scapegoat Fernando. This is a case of deep seated corruption. It has actively worked to shield criminals. The police department must be held accountable. We call upon the Department of Justice to launch an investigation.”

As previously reported by The Daily Leader, defense attorney Terrell Stubbs accused Fernando of withholding evidence because he believed the Cases were guilty before the investigation started. District Attorney Brendon Adams told Fernando he was the man in charge of the investigation and case file and should have known about the missing body camera files. 

Strong is expected to rule on a motion to dismiss filed by the defense this week just days before the trial is set to start on Oct. 14. He could deny the motion to dismiss entirely, grant it or rule on excluding certain evidence turned in past a certain point. 

Gibson said the case has been an uphill battle. He was set to testify in court the day the mistrial was granted. The young man alleged the Brookhaven Police Department had tried to roadblock the case several times. 

“We are focusing on getting justice. The true enemy is BPD. I believe they made Fernando the scapegoat. I hope they have a continuation of the case instead of dismissing it,” Gibson said. “This hasn’t been easy at all. My one saving grace no matter how this trial goes is I just want to tell what happened. At least I get a chance to tell my story. I want to tell my story.”