CASA, Harrison County Youth Court resolve differences
New non-profit for victims services formed as part of agreement
New Harrison County CASA volunteers sworn in By John Fitzhugh | January 28, 2021 at 7:16 PM CST - Updated January 28 at 7:20 PM
HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - A months-long rift between the Harrison County Youth Court and the advocacy group CASA has been resolved.
Judge Mike Dickinson swore in 24 CASA volunteers Thursday and already appointed two on cases. The others will be re-appointed to the cases they were working on in September when the dispute began.
CASA is Court Appointed Special Advocates. The organization is a non-profit, made up of staff and volunteers who review legal cases brought by Mississippi Child Protective Services. In September, the judge barred members of Harrison County CASA from his courtroom until changes were made.
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The two suspects arrested for the abandonment of a 2-year-old boy at a Mississippi Goodwill donation center last week are now facing federal kidnapping charges, while the boy’s mother has alleged that the male suspect attempted to force her into prostitution.
Jeremy Fitzgerald, 34, and Turliscea Turner, 29, are accused of deserting the toddler, who was discovered by an employee at a donation center in Southaven, Mississippi shortly before 10 a.m. on Dec. 14. U.S. Attorney David Michael Dunavant announced on Thursday that the Memphis-based duo had been federally charged with kidnapping, according to a press release about the complaint.
By Bill Galluccio
Dec 18, 2020
Jeremy Fitzgerald, 34, and his girlfriend,
Turlisca Turner, 29, took the boy, whose name is
Sergio, from his mother and drove him from Memphis, Tennessee, to Mississippi.
Prosecutors said that Fitzgerald traveled to Nashville with Sergio s mother,
Antoinette Smith, while Turner was supposed to babysit the young boy. Fitzgerald tried to get Smith to work as a prostitute, but when she refused, he left her stranded in Nashville.
Fitzgerald spoke with Smith s sister and demanded money to return Sergio. The next morning, Fitzgerald and Turner left Memphis with the boy and drove to Southaven, Mississippi, where they stopped at a gas station.
By Bill Galluccio
Dec 18, 2020
Jeremy Fitzgerald, 34, and his girlfriend,
Turlisca Turner, 29, took the boy, whose name is
Sergio, from his mother and drove him from Memphis, Tennessee, to Mississippi.
Prosecutors said that Fitzgerald traveled to Nashville with Sergio s mother,
Antoinette Smith, while Turner was supposed to babysit the young boy. Fitzgerald tried to get Smith to work as a prostitute, but when she refused, he left her stranded in Nashville.
Fitzgerald spoke with Smith s sister and demanded money to return Sergio. The next morning, Fitzgerald and Turner left Memphis with the boy and drove to Southaven, Mississippi, where they stopped at a gas station.
By Bill Galluccio
Dec 18, 2020
Jeremy Fitzgerald, 34, and his girlfriend,
Turlisca Turner, 29, took the boy, whose name is
Sergio, from his mother and drove him from Memphis, Tennessee, to Mississippi.
Prosecutors said that Fitzgerald traveled to Nashville with Sergio s mother,
Antoinette Smith, while Turner was supposed to babysit the young boy. Fitzgerald tried to get Smith to work as a prostitute, but when she refused, he left her stranded in Nashville.
Fitzgerald spoke with Smith s sister and demanded money to return Sergio. The next morning, Fitzgerald and Turner left Memphis with the boy and drove to Southaven, Mississippi, where they stopped at a gas station.