Monday, January 30, 2017

Things are Moving (Finally!) in the Racist Papa John’s Murder of White Counter Clerk, Gordon Shaffer (Update)

 

War crime victim Gordon Schaffer, 22
 


Confessed war criminal Rodney Harvell
 


Suspected war criminal Darious Fitzpatrick, though only 17 at the time of the war crime in 2014, was already a violent career criminal with several felony convictions as a juvenile; his example is spurring calls for juvenile justice reform in Tennessee
 


The newest suspected war criminal is Majestick Alveleano Gillespie
 

By David in TN and Nicholas Stix

Three weeks ago, David in TN visited the Maury County Courthouse, where a staffer told him there were no new developments in the case. Today, a staffer told WEJB/NSU of developments involving all three defendants.

• Rodney Harvell “pled out to Aggravated Robbery and Attempted Aggravated Robbery”;
• Darious Fitzpatrick “has a court date for April 25, at 9 a.m.”; and
• The newest defendant, Majestick Alveleano Gillespie, is “on the docket for February 9, for First-Degree Murder, Attempted Perpetration of a Crime, and Especially Aggravated Robbery.”






13 comments:

Anonymous said...

jerry pdx
Two suspects have been identified in the Canada mosque shooting. Their names are: Mohamed el Khadir and Alexandre Bissonett, though one is supposed to just be a witness. Seems odd the police won't name the actual shooter. Since when do they hesitate to differentiate between a witness and shooter? Is it because the perp is the Moslem? Doesn't seem likely under the circumstances because a mosque member would seem like a likely witness, not some random white guy. I guess we'll see...
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170130/police-now-say-1-suspect-in-canada-mosque-shooting?start=3

David In TN said...

When I first went by the Maury County Courthouse and inquired about this case, I told them I was assisting a New York journalist who wrote about true crime. I'll try to attend the February 9 hearing.

Anonymous said...

Is it me or is that horror Majestic smiling in his mug shot?

God help us. I am so sorry for the family of the man that they murdered.

Nicholas said...

David,

Thanks for all you do! I apologize for not previously posting your comment, but I wanted to remove something, and then I told myself I’d take care of calling the courthouse—“any day now”—and before you knew it, three weeks had passed.

The lady I spoke to on Monday started out sandbagging me (“You’d have to come by the courthouse,” or words to that effect), but when I said that I had a Tennessee friend who had come by before, and could do so again, if necessary, but that that wasn’t an option for me in New York, she changed her demeanor and became very helpful.

If you could bear witness on February 9, that would be wonderful. My God, poor young Schaffer was slaughtered in 2014!


Nicholas said...

Anon,

It sure looks that way. Not a big smile, but a smile, nonetheless.

Nicholas said...

David,

I just searched for a news story on Harvell's plea bargain, but came up with nothing. Meanwhile, I found old news stories from 2014 naming a "Kavoyeh Pye" as "the second suspect." Pye was arrested at the time, and I recognize his photo, but I've now got four names for three suspects.

Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

Plea bargain to lesser charges. YEP. Cold blooded murder becomes merely larceny in the third degree or some such thing.

Anonymous said...

"Majestick Alveleano Gillespie" An Irishman???

David In TN said...

Nicholas,

Amazing! If you hadn't referenced your "Tennessee friend who had come by before," she wouldn't have told you anything. She remembered me from a half dozen or so visits. I gave you the phone number she gave me. It's for the Maury County Circuit Court Office.

All we know is what's on the internet. There hasn't been a comprehensive article written, like our ex-friend Jamie Satterfield would (?) have done.

The in-store surveillance camera recorded the murder. From the scraps of info available, there were three perpetrators seen, or so I thought.

I presume February 9 is a status hearing. Last summer they told me November 28 would be jury selection, but they canceled and started over.

David In TN said...

Nicholas,

Rodney Harvell assisted Fitzpatrick in robbing a Dollar General Store on the other side of town. This is apparently what he pleaded guilty to.

They presumably didn't have evidence of him taking part in the Gordon Schaffer murder.

Nicholas said...

You've surely right about the clerk, because she did a 180, when I mentioned you, and you know the problems I've had with some of these people.

Thanks for the info on Harvell. That was a nagging mystery. The whole case is, given the media blackout that was imposed on the case after all the initial publicity. It's the usual.

David In TN said...

Nicholas,

I'm going to attend the Gillespie hearing tomorrow morning. If I can, I'll go by the Circuit Court Office and see if I can find out about a trial date for Fitzpatrick.

Good point about the media blackout after the initial publicity. Remember the Pearcy Massacre? The same thing.

David In TN said...

There was no hearing today (February 9) for Majestik Gillespie. It took two hours to find this out. I went by the Circuit Court Office and a motions hearing for Darious Fitzpatrick is scheduled for March 3. The trial date for Fitzpatrick in the murder of Gordon Schaffer is (for now) June 26.