Greenwood, MS – On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, James Leahman, a/k/a “Red”, was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of Donald Spells, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today. Leahman was found guilty on August 8, 2025, by a jury in Leflore County Circuit Court convicting him of both First-Degree Murder and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Leahman received a life sentence for the murder and ten years for possession of the weapon.
On the day before Thanksgiving in 2019 at approximately 7:45 in the morning, officers of the Greenwood Police Department were dispatched to the Greenwood-Leflore Hospital in reference to a gunshot victim. Once at the hospital officers were advised that the shooting took place at the 600 block of Roosevelt Street near Reno’s Café. When officers arrived at the scene of the shooting, they were advised by witnesses that James Leahman was responsible.
The victim, Mr. Spells, succumbed to his injuries the same day, and according to trial testimony and a surveillance video retrieved by Greenwood Police a few days following the murder, Mr. Spells was unarmed and lured out of his car by James Leahman. Spells was shot three times as soon as he exited his vehicle, and Leahman fled the scene on foot.
Assistant District Attorneys, Patricia Hicks and Amanda Langford, expressed their gratitude to the Spells Family, who were present in the courtroom Wednesday, for their perseverance and graciousness while justice was sought for their loved one.