Criminal Details

SoutheastSun.com
Cassie Gibbs – Dec 13, 2017 Updated Dec 13, 2017

Murder suspect keeps bond following hearing

An Enterprise man suspected of murder will keep his bond after a bond revocation hearing held before District Judge Chris Kaminski on Monday, Dec. 11.

Joshua Mark Richard, 35, is the suspect in the murder of Joey Chandler, who was found deceased in a car at the Coffee County Stockyard in New Brockton on Dec. 22, 2015.

When he was first arrested and charged with homicide, Joshua Richard was held in the Coffee County Jail on a $150,000 bond.

Assistant District Attorney Josh Wilson told the court the state withdrew bond revocation charges during an Aug. 8, 2016, bond revocation hearing before Circuit Judge Shannon Clark.

According to intake reports, Joshua Richard was brought back to the Coffee County Jail on Friday, Dec. 1. Joshua Richard was charged with third-degree criminal mischief.

The first witness during the hearing was Joshua Richard’s mother, Danette Chestnut.

Chestnut testified that she woke up one morning and heard what she said sounded like gunshots. She said she realized it was her windshield being busted, though she could not see her windshield from the window of her home.

She said she could see a white Lexus parked behind her car, which she said was that of her other son, Jeremy Richard. Chestnut said Jeremy Richard suffers from PTSD.

She said after she heard the gunshot-like noise, someone began to bang on her front door.

After a few moments of someone banging on her door and breaking her windshield, Chestnut said she looked back out of her window and saw an individual, who she said was one of her sons, running around the white Lexus in her yard. She said she did not see the face of the individual, only the back of the head. She said she knew the person as her son.

Chestnut said she saw the white Lexus drive away, and she said she believed Joshua Richard was the driver of the vehicle. She said she called her mother, then her husband and the police after the incident occurred.

Chestnut said Jeremy Richard helped Joshua Richard bond out of jail and lived with him. She said after he helped Joshua Richard out of jail, he never spoke to the family.

She said she received a message from Jeremy Richard after the incident where he admitted to busting her windshield.

Chestnut said she received a call from Joshua Richard while he was being held at the Coffee County Jail. During the call, she said he told her that he did not take part in the incident.

Chestnut told the court she also found a letter in her grandson’s room that she believed was from Joshua Richard to Jeremy Richard.

She described the letter as “threatening.”

The end of the letter, which Chestnut read to the court, included the phrase “will be 10 times more powerful than busting a windshield.” She said the letter was signed by Mark, Joshua Richard’s middle name.

Don Bush, Jeremy and Joshua Richard’s stepfather, was then called to testify. He testified that he received a call from Joshua Richard while police were at his house following the incident.

Bush said Joshua Richard told him he needed to explain what happened. He said Joshua Richard told him that he was at Walmart and he found Jeremy Richard at their home.

Bush said he mentioned $3,000 for a bond amount that was paid, and he said Joshua Richard became upset about the amount being the cost for a windshield.

Jeremy Richard was the final witness in the hearing.

He testified that he broke Chestnut’s windshield, and he said he told no one, including Joshua Richard, that he planned to break his mother’s windshield.

He testified that he broke his mother’s windshield by himself, and he said he tried to open the sliding glass door to her home, but it was locked.

Jeremy Richard said he drove a white Lexus and left before police arrived. He also said he had no knowledge of a letter that referenced a broken windshield.

Kaminski reinstated Joshua Richard’s previous bond requirements following testimony.

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Criminal Details

SoutheastSun.com
Michelle Mann – Jul 31, 2018 Updated Aug 1, 2018

Man charged with murder back in Coffee County Jail

An Enterprise man charged with murder is back in the Coffee County Jail.

Joshua Mark Richard, 35, was arrested July 25 after being charged with first-degree receiving stolen property and fourth-degree receiving stolen property in Houston County.

Richard is the suspect in the murder of Joey Chandler, who was found dead in a car at the Coffee County Stockyard in New Brockton on Dec. 22, 2015.

When he was first arrested and charged with homicide, Richard was held in the Coffee County Jail on a $150,000 bond.

At the time of the arrest, Coffee County Chief Deputy Ronnie Whitworth said Chandler had died “execution style from a single gunshot wound to the head” by what was believed to have been a small-caliber weapon.

The shooting occurred at the stockyard in the front parking lot approximately 15-20 feet from the roadway, according to Kenny Davis, an investigator with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office.

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Criminal Details

SoutheastSun.com
Justin Blowers & Michelle Mann – Oct 23, 2018 Updated Oct 24, 2018

Murder trial ends in manslaughter plea deal

“Sometimes these things end in a whimper instead of a bang,” said renowned Enterprise attorney Paul Young after a plea deal was struck. “This is a tragedy all around.”

Joshua Mark Richard, 35, was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in a state prison with a split minimum of four years active in a state penitentiary and four years active supervised probation on Oct. 22.

Richards was originally arrested and charged with homicide in relation to the murder of Joey Chandler on $150,000 bail.

Chandler was found dead in a car at the Coffee County Stockyard in New Brockton on Dec, 22, 2015.

At the time of the arrest, Coffee County Chief Deputy Ronnie Whitworth said Chandler had died “execution style from a single gunshot wound to the head” by what was believed to have been a small-caliber weapon.

Richard was then arrested on July 25, 2018, and charged with first-degree receiving stolen property and fourth-degree receiving stolen property.

The defense and prosecution both agreed that Richard had 714 days of jail credit to put towards his four years in a penitentiary so he will only have to spend about two years in prison.

Richard was surrounded by counsel, attorneys Young, Sonny Reagan and James Tarbox as he told Circuit Judge Shannon Clark that he wanted to enter a guilty plea for manslaughter as part of a plea deal, which was accepted.

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Jeff Moore said that the plea deal had “the blessing” of the victim’s family.

The deal was struck during a recess that was only supposed to be 10 minutes before the trial would resume.

“No search warrant was issued for a (gun) shell casing that was never found?” was the question asked of a Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Deputy at a hearing held before Clark on Thursday, Oct, 18. “Correct,” the deputy replied.

During the hearing held before the start of the Oct. 22 jury trial, testimony from Coffee County Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Davis revealed that he could not prove the existence of a warrant to search the three vehicles that had been searched by law enforcement investigators in connection with the Dec. 22, 2015 shooting death.

In addition to not being able to produce proof of a search warrant’s existence, Davis said that no gun or bullet shell casing was ever found. “There was no evidence in the vehicle that we found tying (Richard) to the murder,” Davis told the court.

Richard’s attorneys also also told the court that after his arrest their client had requested an attorney at least six times during his hours-long interview with two sheriff’s department deputies.

When Davis told the court that Richard had not, in fact, requested legal advice, Reagan asked the 30-year law enforcement veteran to read aloud from Page 2, Page 7, Page 17, Page 22, Page 26 and Page 28 of the transcript of a recorded conversation the law enforcers had with Richard the night he was arrested. In each instance, Richard asked for legal assistance.

“We are not suggesting to the court that the weather ought to affect the constitutional rights of Mark Richard,” Young asked when Davis told the court that the excessive rains and cold weather that night prevented the law officers from a detailed search of the vicinity where they believe the gun would be found.

Reagan had Davis read aloud Page 16, Page 29, page 57, and Page 93 of the 95-page transcript in which Richard said he was hungry and was told he could have a cheeseburger once he told the law officers the location of the gun, that was never found.

“We implore you, do not judge this book by the prosecution’s cover,” Tarbox told the 10-woman, four-man jury during opening statements of the trial that lasted less than two hours Oct. 22. “There is not one shred of evidence except for the testimony of just one person, the one person we know was there. A man whose credibility this jury will have to judge. I believe you will find him wholly incredible.”

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