top of page

chikesia clemons defense attorney: motion for dismissal, prosecutorial misconduct


Saraland police choking Chikesia Clemons

The attorney defending Chikesia Clemons on misdemeanor charges stemming from her 2018 Waffle House arrest says prosecutors improperly and inaccurately linked a same-day Tennessee restaurant shooting, a move amounting to prosecutorial misconduct.

Chikesia Clemons, 25, was arrested after a verbal altercation with Waffle House employee Goldie Mincy, and was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. A video filmed by Clemons’ friend Ms Adams, who was present at the April 2018 incident, showed Saraland police officers subduing Clemons. The video, and incident, went national -- drawing attention to the case and bringing calls to drop the charges from civil rights leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton.


The jury was sent home for the evening Thursday after Defense attorney Marcus Foxx told the court that prosecutor Jeff Perloff, attorney for the city of Saraland, led witnesses to admit fear based on the Waffle House shooting in Antioch, Tenn. The shooting and the incident in Saraland took place on April 22, 2018.


The shooting was at 3:25 a.m., according to multiple reports from that morning. The incident involving Clemons occurred between 2:30 a.m. and 2:40 a.m. Foxx asserted that the Saraland Waffle House employees could not have been fearful based on the shooting because it had not yet happened.


Perloff told the court that he spoke with other members of the prosecution team about the timing of the two incidents on Thursday morning which led them to leave the Tennessee shooting out of questioning today. Foxx said the shooting was mentioned in questions posed by the prosecution team to witnesses on Wednesday and their answers had already been “processed” by the jury.

“The date and time of an incident are absolute fact,” Foxx said to the court, “and he introduced that. This has irreparably harmed this case.”


The judge stepped away to check recordings from both days and returned about 15 minutes later to adjourn until Friday morning at 9 a.m. Judge Brandy Hambright said she will rule on Foxx’s dismissal request related to claims of prosecutorial misconduct on Friday morning.


Foxx asked for a directed not guilty verdict but was denied on both charges, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.


The day consisted of two witnesses who worked at waffle house and the reading of a testimony of Heather Snow a customer at the waffle house the night of the event from the municipal trial in Saraland for the state.


Court will reconvene tomorrow morning.

Featured Posts
Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
bottom of page