Woman pleads guilty three days after hung jury

Published 9:34 am Friday, December 9, 2016

A Vicksburg woman has pleaded guilty in Warren County Circuit Court to manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison in the 2015 shooting death of 46-year-old Roy Brown.

District Attorney Ricky Smith said Crystal Lindsey entered her plea before Judge Isadore Patrick Thursday, three days after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the six-day trial of Lindsey, 33, and her husband, Harold, 59. Both were accused of murder in the June 16, 2015, death of Brown, which stemmed from a domestic dispute between Brown and Crystal Lindsey.

Smith said the jury deliberated for 31/2 hours Monday before announcing to Patrick in open court it was deadlocked 11-1.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

Smith said Harold Lindsey has not sought a plea, and he intends to retry him. No date has been set.

“I’ve asked the court to set the new trial as soon as possible,” Smith said. “I don’t want to see it put aside.”

He said Brown’s family agreed to the plea bargain agreement with Crystal Lindsey.

“They sat through the entire trial, and said they wanted closure,” he said.

According to police, Brown and Crystal Lindsey were involved in the domestic dispute at a home on Court Street where Brown stayed periodically. During the argument, Lindsey called husband to come to the house. It was not clear if she was living with Brown or her husband.

Brown was shot in the yard of the home, but police were not sure if Crystal Lindsey or her husband shot him.

Harold Lindsey was arrested June 17, but his wife fled town and later turned herself in to authorities in Baton Rouge, La.

The trial ran from Nov. 29 through Monday, when the jury announced it was deadlocked.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

email author More by John