Guilty verdict ends with life sentence for in-law's death

An area man, who had been charged in the Sept. 2, 2022, shooting death of his brother-in-law, was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Franklin County Circuit Court jury on Tuesday, May 23.

Richard Gibson, of 23 Sims Lane in Meadville, was formally indicted by the local grand jury in January for the death of Billy Brown.

At the time, the two were alleged to have had a disagreement over a box of bullets.

“The two men began to fight when Gibson’s wife and Brown’s sister — Katoya Gibson — separated them,” Franklin County District Attorney Shameca Collins noted in a written statement.

“After being separated, Gibson pulled a gun from his pocket and shot Brown and killed him. A life is way more valuable than a $30 box of bullets, which can be replaced, but Billy Gibson’s life cannot.”

Collins praised the investigative work of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and Sgt. Josh Evans along with Franklin County Coroner Billy Gill in bringing closure to the sad case where, she said, a family had lost two loved ones due to a single act of violence.

Gibson was immediately sentenced to life in prison in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Prosecutors had moved to make Gibson’s criminal history part of the sentencing phase in regards to the murder case he faced, which included:

• A May 22, 2001, guilty plea related to a drive-by shooting (Mississippi Code 97-3-109).

Gibson was sentenced by Circuit Judge Forrest Johnson to 10 years with five years suspended along with five years of post-release supervision. He was also ordered to pay court costs.

• A Feb. 7, 2007, guilty plea on a felony charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon (Mississippi Code 97-35-5).
In this case, Johnson sentenced Gibson to three years in prison with credit for the six months he had been housed in a local detention facility.

The remaining balance of Gibson’s sentence — two-and-a-half years — was to be served on post-release supervision.

Additionally, Gibson pled guilty on Feb. 10, 1999, to a felony charge of burglary of an automobile (Mississippi Code 97-17-33).

For that offense, he was sentenced to seven years with one year in prison and post-release supervision for six years along with court-mandated alcohol rehabilitation and treatment and paying $150 in restitution to the victim of the crime.