The Mississippi Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal for post-conviction relief from Robert Maurice Harris, who was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges November 14, 2019.

On June 30, 2017, the body of 22-year-old Anderson White III was found in a wooded area off Military Avenue in Vicksburg dead from an apparent gunshot wound. The same day, Harris turned himself into police. He was 17 at the time. Both Harris and another man, ​​Xavier Clark, were eventually charged with capital muder and armed robbery in relation to Anderson’s death, with Harris identified as the shooter.

White was shot during a robbery the night of June 29; however, police responding later in the evening to a call of shots fired in the area of Military and Roosevelt avenues found no activity.  About 10:45 a.m. June 30, officers returned to the area after a vehicle was found crashed into a road sign. Investigators found biological evidence at the scene, indicating a crime may have occurred, and after a search in the area, left the scene. Investigators were later able to determine the vehicle was last driven by White.  About 12:45 p.m. the same day, relatives and friends of White called E911 when they located his body in a wooded area in the 2000 block of Military Avenue.

In July of 2017, two other men, Deangelo Fields, 20, and Patrick Chambers, 19, were each charged with accessory after the fact of a capital murder for trying to sell the suspected weapon used in White’s murder, a 9mm handgun. Each man was held on a $1.5 million bond, while Harris and Clark were each held on a $3 million bond.

In February of 2018, seven people were indicted by a Warren County grand jury in connection with Anderson’s death, including Harris, Clark, Fields, Chambers, Kathleen Michelle Barnes, Patrick Dewayne Thomas and Linda Marie Williams. Barnes, Thomas and Williams were also indicted as accessories after the fact to murder. They, along with Fields and Chambers, were accused of helping Clark and Harris avoid arrest.

In December 2019, Harris entered an open plea of guilty to the lesser offense of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 15 years suspended, 25 to serve and five years of post-release supervision..

In his appeal, Harris said he had received ineffective counsel and claimed his guilty plea was involuntary because he was given erroneous advice about his sentence.

After a review of the facts, the court found no evidence to support either of these accusations and upheld the original ruling.