Days before two Columbia men were slated to stand trial for burglaries and other offenses, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison terms by 15th Judicial Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell.
Demara Collins, aka Demara Franklin, 30, and Myjelious Jackson, 39, are both set to serve a full 10 years.
“These guys have been nothing but a problem for years,” District Attorney Hal Kittrell said Wednesday. “My hope is that they will grow up while they are in prison. They are there to think about it. Maybe it will allow them to change. In the meantime, the citizens of Columbia won’t have to worry about them for a long time.”
Collins was initially arrested for a series of break-ins in Columbia in 2010. The incident he was sentenced for stemmed from a burglary in 2014. During the earlier cases, Collins was alleged to have cased residences while working for the city on a garbage truck. He was terminated by the Board of Aldermen. In 2010, many items were recovered, including flat-screen televisions and firearms. Police were tipped off to Collins when he tried to cash in a large amount of change at an area store following four automobile burglaries. In February 2010, Collins was also charged in a burglary in Meadowood. The string of burglaries in 2010 set the city on edge. Neighborhood watch meetings were organized, and city police beefed up patrols.
Collins pleaded this week to two charges, burglary of a dwelling and possession of a firearm by a felon and was sentenced as a habitual offender, Kittrell said. He was sentenced to 20 years on the burglary charge with 15 to be served in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and five years on post-release supervision and 10 years on the felon in possession of a firearm to be served concurrently.
“He’ll serve 10 years day-for-day without early release,” Kittrell said. “Collins will also have to pay a $5,000 fine plus court costs. He’ll come out of prison in 10 years and still have five years on probation.”
Jackson, who also has an extensive criminal history, was sentenced on a taking away of a motor vehicle charge as a habitual offender and pleaded guilty to a malicious mischief charge.
“He will serve 10 years of hard time,” Kittrell said. “He will serve day-for-day and then be on probation for five years. He will also have to pay restitution to the victims in each case.”
