The Mississippi Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Jeremiah Fears, who was convicted of capital murder and other counts when he was found guilty in the murder of a man who came with his stepdaughter to buy a car they’d found on Facebook Marketplace.
According to court documents, Fears was one of three men involved in a crime in which they posted a Nissan Maxima for sale on social media in October 2020.
Alexis Tallant and her stepfather, Robert Cox, drove to Houston, Mississippi, to purchase the Maxima. When they got out to make the deal, they were accosted by three suspects, one of which had a gun and one of which had a baseball bat.
Fears admitted to setting up the Facebook post and communicating with Tallant, but said he was not the shooter who killed Cox in the robbery gone bad. Lamarius Spraggins, who was also charged in the incident, testified that Fears attacked Cox with a baseball bat while the other co-defendant Jarquavius Doss ended up shooting him.
Fears was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for capital murder in Cox’ death and to serve fifty years in the MDOC’s custody for armed robbery, five years in custody for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and twenty years in custody for aggravated assault against Tallant. Fears moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdicts or a new trial.
The court denied the motion. Fears appealed again on the grounds that he was not the shooter, and that the jury was not given an accomplice instruction.
The Appeals Court found that the court did not err in refusing to give the jury accomplice instructions, and Fears’ conviction stands.
