Vicksburg man faces September trial for attempted armed robbery

Published 10:12 pm Friday, November 16, 2012

A Vicksburg man accused of attempted armed robbery will stand trial in September.

Thomas Dearman, 19, 111 Nicholas St., appeared before Circuit Court Judge Isadore Patrick Friday to be arraigned after an indictment by the Warren County grand jury for attempted armed robbery. Patrick set the trial for Sept. 13.

Dearman is accused of pulling a knife and demanding money from a woman walking near Clay and Walnut streets May 3, according to court records. He fled without taking anything after a vehicle stopped to ask the woman if she was in trouble.

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Police said descriptions of the robber matched that of Dearman, who was later found at a motel on Walnut Street.

Dearman was initially held on $75,000 bond before being released back to drug court.

In January 2011, Dearman pleaded guilty to burglary of a vehicle and burglary of a dwelling and was sentenced to the Ninth Circuit Court Drug Court program for a period not to exceed five years.

In another arraignment Friday, a Vicksburg man accused of burglarizing a tire shop will stand trial in May.

Robert Brown, 32, 2534 Oak St., appeared before Patrick Friday afternoon to be arraigned after an indictment by the Warren County grand jury for nonresidential burglary. Patrick set the trial for May 28.

Brown is accused of breaking into the warehouse of Tri-State Tires on Aug. 25.

The owner of the business found Brown inside and recognized his voice as someone who had frequented the area with friends, according to court records.

In Warren County Circuit Court for the week ending Friday:

• Rodney Covington, 47, 402 Locust St, Apt. 202, was found guilty of violating probation from a 2001 conviction for forgery and sentenced by Circuit Court Patrick to complete Extended Alcohol and Drug Treatment followed by a year of house arrest. Covington was indicted in January 2001.

• Oliver James Hickman, 48, 1327 Bay St., pleaded guilty to third-offense shoplifting and was sentenced by Patrick to 179 days of time served followed by three years’ probation, a $1,000 fine and $384.50 in costs. Hickman was indicted in July 2011.

• Eddie Lee Howard, 57, no address available, was found guilty of violating house arrest probation from a 2009 conviction for felony eluding and sentenced by Patrick to five years’ probation. Howard was indicted in January 2009.

• Samuel Eugene Matthews, 22, 204 Kendra Drive, was found guilty of violating probation from a 2010 conviction for robbery and was sentenced by Circuit Judge M. James Chaney Jr. to 290 days in prison followed by three years’ probation. Matthews was indicted in May 2009.

• Alerick Powell, 19, 144 Elizabeth Circle, was found guilty of violating a 2011 nonadjudicated sentence to Ninth Circuit Drug Court and adjudicated on charges of burglary of a dwelling and grand larceny. Chaney sentenced Powell to five years in prison. Powell was indicted in October 2011.

• Robert Stout, 45, 1155 Fisher Ferry Road, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced by Chaney to five years’ probation, a $3,000 fine and $859.50 in costs. Stout was indicted in July.

• Timothy Tillman, 47, 908 Pierce St., pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced by Patrick to the Ninth Circuit Drug Court for a period not to exceed five years, a $2,000 fine and $1,134.50 in costs. Tillman was indicted in July 2007.

• Kelvin White, 35, 236 Countryside Road, plead guilty to sale of cocaine and was sentenced by Chaney to seven years in prison followed by five years’ probation, a $5,000 fine and $684.50 in cost. White was indicted in July.