Justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court have ruled landlords of a West Point apartment complex that was the scene of a 2012 murder could not have foreseen the crime and can’t be held liable, upholding a ruling from the Clay County Circuit Court in 2015.
The case revolves around the Jan. 1, 2012, death of 16-year-old Devin Mitchell, who was shot outside a Ridgewood East Apartments unit where he was visiting a cousin. Mitchell’s family filed a personal injury lawsuit against the apartment management in September 2012 alleging the apartment administrators had knowledge of the shooter’s criminal background and that “an atmosphere of violence existed at Ridgewood East at the time of the shooting.”
The alleged shooter, Tavaris Collins, did not have a lease with Ridgewood, but witnesses at Collins’ criminal trial said he had been living with a tenant for two years.
A Clay County Circuit Court civil trial jury in 2015 determined there were no facts to support the Mitchells’ claim that the apartment’s management knew of Collins’ criminal history and should have foreseen that he may commit a crime.
In 2015, Collins was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He was sentenced to life in prison according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections database.
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