The trial for a former Columbia man accused of plotting to kidnap and extort billionaire businessman Tommy Duff is set for May in Poplarville.
Victor Mitchell, 44, faces up to life in prison and has remained in the Lamar County Jail without bond since his arrest on Nov. 19, 2016.
His trial has been moved from Lamar County to Pearl River County because of Duff’s prominence in the community.
District Attorney Hal Kittrell said the defense was granted a continuance and that the next court term was already filled, pushing the trial back to May 20, 2019.
“It also ensures that case will in fact be tried at that point. We were ready at the last one. We’re still ready,” Kittrell said.
Mitchell recently parted ways with his attorney, T. Michael Reed, because “issues have arisen” between them, according to court records. Circuit Judge Claiborne “Buddy” McDonald on Oct. 9 appointed D. Austen Silkman, a Lamar County public defender, and Scott Schwartz, a Hattiesburg attorney, to represent Mitchell. Silkman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
A motion to separate Mitchell’s trial from that of the other two defendants, Glenn Evans, 48, and Howard Cameron, 49, is pending. Evans plans to testify at the trials of the other two, according to court documents.
A confidential informant told Hattiesburg police on Nov. 18, 2016, that Mitchell had approached him about hiring him “to kidnap a guy and kill him,” according to a transcript of testimony by Leo Clemons of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation during a bond hearing. Police then recorded calls between the informant and Mitchell and arranged a meeting. When Mitchell, who previously lived in Columbia but had recently moved to Sumrall, arrived early in the morning of Nov. 19 along with Evans and Cameron, authorities arrested them. Clemons testified investigators found things in their car that were to be used in the kidnapping. That included masks, gloves, duct tape, flashlights, zip ties, fake teeth and black hoodies, according to court documents.
A Lamar County grand jury indicted all three defendants on charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempt to kidnap, conspiracy to commit sexual battery, attempt to commit sexual battery, conspiracy to commit extortion and attempt to extort.
The trio was initially also charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but the grand jury “no billed” them on that charge.
They remain held without bond in the Lamar County Jail, and Kittrell said he hopes they remain so until the cases are disposed of.
In asking for a change of venue, Mitchell asserted there has been an inordinate amount of media coverage, making it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. Prosecutors opposed the move, saying there had not been much coverage since the initial arrests.
Judge McDonald found that Duff stems from a prominent and influential family and has approximately the same status as an elected public official because he was appointed by the governor to the state College Board. It said those factors raised an “irrebuttable presumption” that an impartial jury could not be obtained in Lamar County.
“While there has been a fair amount of media coverage in Lamar and Marion Counties, the Court has found zero to little media coverage in Pearl River County, Mississippi,” McDonald said in his decision filed May 29. “Further, with a change of venue to Pearl River County, there is no need to sequester or transport a jury in this case. Witnesses should be able to travel to Pearl River County with little extra expense.”
McDonald had previously denied a motion by Mitchell to receive bond, finding him to be a “danger to society.” McDonald said in a written opinion that the “likelihood of conviction is great and could result in life imprisonment. Therefore, the risk of non-appearance by the Defendant is high.”
Mitchell faces life imprisonment for attempted kidnapping, 30 years for attempted sexual battery, 15 years for attempted extortion and five years each on the three conspiracy charges, as do the other two defendants.
Duff is the co-owner of Columbia-based Duff Capital Investors along with his brother, Jim. Duff Capital Investors is comprised of more than a dozen companies, most notably Southern Tire Mart, that combined employ more than 10,000 people. A Forbes magazine story published earlier this year said the Duff brothers were the richest people in Mississippi with estimated net worths of $1.2 billion apiece.
