Greenville, MS – In Greenville, two different homicide cases have been closed during the July 2020 term of court in Washington County, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today.
Jonathan Cooper, 39 years old, of Greenville entered a guilty plea to the crime of Second Degree Murder and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon in late August. Cooper pled guilty during the week prior to his trial which was set to begin on August 24, 2020 in the Circuit Court of Washington County. Cooper’s charge stemmed from an incident that occurred in the early morning hours of January 6, 2018 in the 300 block of North Street in Greenville, MS. After being called to the area, officers and investigators of the Greenville Police Department responded to the scene to find Levon Jones, Jr. unresponsive in his vehicle with apparent gunshot wounds to his chest.
Cooper was arrested approximately two weeks into the investigation of the shooting. With his trial looming just days away, Cooper decided to admit his guilt in open court and plead guilty. Assistant District Attorney Kaylon McCou sincerely appreciates the diligent police and investigative work done by the Greenville Police Department in ensuring that the person responsible for taking Mr. Jones’ life was brought to justice. Cooper was thereafter sentenced to the District Attorney’s recommendation of 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with 30 of those years to serve as a Habitual Offender.
This week, Corey Jimerson, 38 years old, pled guilty and admitted to the September 20, 2018 killing of Kimberly Jackson at her home in Leland, MS. During the course of this investigation, Leland investigators learned through concerned citizens that a shooting occurred on McGee Street in Leland, MS and that Jimerson was attempting to flee the scene of the killing in a silver automobile. Jimerson, who had been in a long term dating relationship with Jackson, was soon apprehended and placed in custody and charged for Kimberly Jackson’s death.
Jimerson pled guilty to his actions in open court and admitted shooting Jackson. Corey Jimerson was sentenced to 30 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections as 25 years to serve. Jimerson not only pled guilty to the crime of Second Degree Murder but to also being a convicted felon in possession a firearm. ADA John Herzog, Jr., who led the prosecution of this case, “expresses sympathy for the loved ones of Kimberly Jackson and her children and encourages anyone in a domestic abuse relationship to seek help before it’s too late.”
Richardson added that, “the District Attorney’s office hopes that these convictions give the families and friends of these victims a sense of relief that their killers have been brought to justice, and we consider it a message to all that crimes of violence will not be tolerated. Under the laws of the State of Mississippi, those convicted of Second Degree Murder are not entitled to any early release nor parole.”