The murder case of Phillip Dunn in 2020 took a series of surprising turns as the investigation made headlines with a plot line that resembled a movie. The story takes another turn after the case was dismissed recently in a Yazoo County Circuit Court.
Tommy White Jr. was charged with murder in connection to the death of Dunn in February of 2020. Three years later, a motion was filed by Trent Walker, special prosecutor with the district attorney’s office, to dismiss the case. Judge Jannie Lewis-Blackmon agreed with Walker’s motion and granted the order on Nov. 27.
The case began in 2020 when Dunn’s vehicle was found abandoned on Highway 49 with blood inside the vehicle. He had been missing since Feb. 4, 2020. The investigation soon led to the arrest of White, who was charged with Dunn’s murder. It would still be a few weeks before Dunn’s body was discovered.
Dunn’s body was found in the Big Black River on March 29, 2020. Sheriff Jake Sheriff said Dunn appeared to have been shot multiple times.
The case took another surprising turn when the body of White’s alleged accomplice, Marcus Journigan, was discovered in Jackson. However, according to local investigators, White was never charged in connection to Journigan’s death by Jackson authorities.
Terry Gann, who currently serves as the city’s chief of police, was heavily involved with the investigation during his tenure at the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department. He said he feels “somebody dropped the ball” when it comes to bringing Dunn’s accused killer to justice.
“The case started out as a conflict of interest with the district attorney’s office,” Gann said. “Then the case was handed over to the attorney general. Then, when the conflict of interest was no longer at the district attorney’s office, the attorney general sent it back to them. It went from one special prosecutor to another. In the middle of all this going back and forth and numerous motions filed, I think the ball got dropped.”
Gann said he was also left out of the loop with the case.
“I didn’t even get to testify at the hearing because I was never told about it,” Gann said. “I didn’t even hear about the charges being dismissed until several hours later when the victim’s family called me.”
Gann said he doesn’t know what grounds the dismissal order was based on either.
“I don’t know if it was lack of a speedy trial or the special prosecutor claiming he couldn’t get in touch with a witness,” Gann said. “But, if it is dealing with getting in touch with a key witness, that is not true. The special prosecutor would have called me, and he never did.”
Dunn’s family has been vocal in their disappointment with the case and court proceedings. But Gann said he intends to contact the attorney general’s office to see if the case can be reindicted.
