The racist police officer who shot a black man in the mouth during a torture session with his ‘Goon Squad’ colleagues has had his prison sentence more than doubled as all six were sentenced today on state charges.
The villain collective subjected Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker to nearly two hours of beatings, waterboarding, assault and electrocution after raiding a home in Mississippi in January 2023.
The group had already been sentenced to between 10 and 40 years on federal charges and four of them saw their prison sentences increase today, including Deputy Hunter Elward, who will now serve 45 years instead of 20.
Jenkins, who was shot in the mouth by 31-year-old Elward, said the officers “tried to take my manhood away from me.”
“They did some unimaginable things to me and the consequences will remain in my life forever,” he added.
Hunter Elward, a former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy, was sentenced to 45 years in prison to run concurrently with his 20-year federal sentence after shooting Michael Jenkins in the mouth during a botched mock execution
Michael Corey Jenkins, left, and Eddie Terrell Parker, foreground, stood in the courtroom Wednesday
Former Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Opdyke looks at his family after his prison sentence was increased from 17.5 to 20 years
The officers, five of whom worked for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, burst into a Braxton home without a warrant after a neighbor complained that two black men were staying there with a white woman and were acting “suspicious.”
At least three of them were members of a so-called ‘Goon Squad’, which committed itself to using excessive force against members of the public.
An earlier hearing was told that Jeffrey Middleton had branded the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department emblems with the words “Goon Squad,” a Confederate flag and a noose.
Elward, who was previously accused of beating a mentally ill Black man to death in 2021, shot Jenkins in a “mock execution” after putting a gun in his mouth.
As their victim lay bleeding on the ground, the officers came up with a cover-up that included planting drugs and a gun.
The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department subsequently supported the deputies’ false allegations, which stymied Jenkins and Parker for months.
“Me and Eddie were called racist names in this case. We were called n***er, we were called monkey, we were called boy and we were accused of dating white women,” Jenkins said before the sentencing in a statement read by his lawyer.
“After Hunter Elward shot me, they left me bleeding on the ground to die. And they tried to put me in jail.
“Your Honor, they killed me. I just didn’t die.’
The officers charged in connection with the assault of Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker were (Top L-R) Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton and Christian Dedmon. (Below L-R) Hunter Elward, Daniel Opdyke, Joshua Hartfield
Members of the “Goon Squad” of Rankin County law enforcement officers wore a coin to show they were part of the sick group. Pictured: Lieutenant Middleton’s coin
Michael Corey Jenkins in hospital after being shot in the mouth during the attack
Each of the former officers, who were shackled and dressed in prison garb, took their turn Wednesday before Circuit Court Judge Steve Ratcliff in a courthouse in Brandon, across the street from a Confederate monument.
Each of the men pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Christian Dedmon, 29, was also charged with home invasion, and Elward was also charged with home invasion and aggravated assault.
Brett McAlpin, 53, Middleton, 46, Daniel Opdyke, 28, and Joshua Hartfield, 32, all faced an additional charge of first-degree obstruction of justice.
Their two victims have filed a $400 million federal lawsuit, and the Rankin County NAACP said the officers’ conduct called into question other convictions.
“This chapter of the book is written, but the book is not yet finished,” President Angela English said Wednesday.
‘We have spoken to the Ministry of Justice. We have reiterated that we want a clean slate.
“We want them to go through the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department and have them clean house.
“We want them to go into the prisons and reopen all these cases that these lawless officers have created.”
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said the case had jeopardized community relations and confidence in law enforcement.
“The actions of these six men caused serious harm to these two victims, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, and betrayed the trust of all the citizens they were sworn to protect,” she said after the sentencing.
“These former officers also betrayed the trust of the other men and women who honorably wear the uniform. Each of them will feel the consequences of the distrust they have sown between law enforcement and the people.
“These criminal acts make the difficult job even harder and much more dangerous. And it is up to all of us to commit to repairing that damage.”