Update: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that The Daily Mississippian cannot presently confirm whether or not a Lafayette County Grand Jury has heard and decided upon the case against Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr.
Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., who has been charged with the murder of University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee, has filed a lawsuit against the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office alleging wrongful imprisonment.
Herrington, an Ole Miss graduate, was arrested on July 22 and charged with the murder of Lee following an investigation led jointly by local law enforcement, chiefly the Oxford Police Department. According to the lawsuit, a grand jury failed to indict Herrington on the capital offense of first-degree murder.
“The Lafayette County Grand Jury recently convened, subsequent to the date of the bond and preliminary hearings, and failed to indict Mr. Herrington for murder, or any other crime, in connection with Jay Lee’s disappearance,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Lafayette County against Sheriff Joey East (in his official capacity), petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, which is a civil action against a state agent. The constitutional writ of habeas corpus allows detainees who believe themselves to be wrongfully imprisoned to go before a judge and challenge their detainment.
When approached by The Daily Mississippian, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office stated that they have no comment to share on the matter.
The petition, written by Herrington’s lawyer, Kevin Horan, details the reasons the pair believe Herrington to be wrongly imprisoned. Many of them echo Horan’s closing argument during Herrington’s bond hearing and preliminary hearing on Aug 9.
Horan re-states his belief that Herrington is not a flight risk and points to the absence of physical evidence incriminating Herrington. Horan points again to Oxford Police Department Detective Ryan Baker’s inability to speak to the qualifications of the canines used during the investigation.
“On cross examination, Detective Baker was unable to recount the specifics about the supposed qualifications of either the ‘cadaver dogs’ or their handlers,” Horan says in the lawsuit.
The canines, loaned to the Oxford Police Department from the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, “hit” in Timothy Herrington’s apartment. These hits are supposed to indicate that at one point human remains were present at that location in the apartment. This is the only definitive evidence pointing to a situation where Herrington murdered Lee in his apartment. Without proper credentials and qualifications for the canines, a judge could find the evidence to be inadmissible.
According to the Oxford Police Department, that is not for Horan to decide.
“When they actually have the trial, the court will determine whether that information is admissible or inadmissible. In a preliminary hearing, they don’t have to do that. Was there sufficient evidence … is there probable cause to hold him without bail and that’s what they determined,” administrative lieutenant Hildon Sessums said.
The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, who would have information on the qualifications of the canines, declined to comment due to the case being active.
In the lawsuit, Horan even goes as far as to question Lee’s death, saying in the lawsuit that the state has not produced evidence that Lee is dead — outside of the fact that he has not been heard from — or that a crime has been committed.
The Daily Mississippian was unable to reach Kevin Horan prior to publication.
Herrington is still being detained after Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Gray Tollison denied him bond on Aug 9.
“I’m not saying they’re reaching … but there’s a time and a place for all that. I think they’re trying to get ahead of themselves. All that will take place in the trial,” said Sessums.
Lee, a 20-year-old from Jackson who ran for Homecoming King at Ole Miss last fall, has not been seen since the early hours of July 8. Though local law enforcement officials believe they have found Lee’s murderer, Lee’s body has yet to be found. Initially, the Oxford Police Department and University Police Department were working jointly on the case. The local agencies were then joined by the Oxford Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Lee was last seen at 5:58 a.m. that Friday at Campus Walk Apartments. His family members realized he was missing later that day when he didn’t call to wish his mother, whose birthday was the same day, a happy birthday.
His car was towed by Bandit Towing Company from Molly Barr Apartments on Friday afternoon and located by law enforcement on July 11. After local law enforcement discovered Lee’s vehicle, the search for Lee went into full swing.
Local law enforcement announced that the local FBI field office joined the investigation on July 19, and on July 22 Herrington was arrested and charged with the murder of Lee.
“Law enforcement agencies are still working to locate Lee’s body. This is still an ongoing investigation and updates will be given at a later date,” OPD shared on Twitter on July 22.
This is the last official update the Oxford community received from the department on the Jay Lee case.
On Aug. 9, Timothy Herrington appeared at the Lafayette County Courthouse for a bond hearing and a preliminary hearing.
The prosecution presented evidence that suggests Herrington’s guilt, including photos of Herrington leaving the Molly Barr Apartments on foot, the same apartment complex where Lee’s vehicle had been dumped, and a receipt found in Herrington’s garbage can for duct tape purchased on the morning when Lee was last seen. And perhaps the most damning evidence: text messages that show that Herrington Google searched, “How long does it take to strangle someone like Gabby Petito,” in the minutes before Lee arrived at his apartment at Herrington’s request.
Tollison denied Herrington bond on the grounds that the evidence presented by Lafayette County prosecutors was overwhelmingly implicating and that Herrington posed a flight risk.
“The court has reviewed the exhibits that were introduced and heard the testimony. And based on the testimony heard and exhibits presented … the court finds that the proof is evident and the presumption great that the defendant committed the capital offense of first-degree murder,” said Tollison.
It is present unclear whether a judge will hear Herrington’s petition for habeas corpus.
