By Talibah Chikwendu
AFRO Executive Editor
Heather Ellis will have her day in court Nov. 18 to defend against charges for her allegedly cutting in line at a Missouri Walmart.(Courtesy Photo/Hester Ellis)
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UPDATE, Nov. 4, 2009
(November 1, 2009) - On Nov. 18, Heather R. Ellis goes to trial in Dunklin County, Mo., on two felony and two misdemeanor charges. She faces a possible 15-year sentence for charges stemming from her allegedly cutting in line at a Walmart store in her hometown of Kennett.
Among the amazing things about this case is that it has taken almost three years for Heather to get her day in court. "We have been fighting fiercely for a long time," said Hester Ellis, Heather's mom. "My daughter is telling the truth. She's innocent. She is ready to tell her story [in court]."
According to Heather's mom, on Jan. 6, 2007, while Heather was home for winter break from Xavier University of Louisiana, she and her 15-year-old cousin went to Walmart. They each picked a separate line at checkout, agreeing to combine the items for purchase with the first person to reach the cashier.
When her cousin reached the cashier, Heather walked over and handed him the items. Other customers began to say Heather had cut the line, prompting a manager to call the police. Heather made her purchases and left the store, but was arrested on the parking lot.
The Rev. Jesse Bonner, president of the Sikeston Branch of the NAACP and pastor of Divine Second Chance Ministries, said the process of the arrest was brutal. Heather sustained cuts on her arms from the tightness of the handcuffs, he said, and multiple bruises from being forced to the ground. Her mother said they slammed her into a metal door at the police station and the police report notes that she requested and was released to obtain medical attention for her injuries.
The probable cause affidavit portion of the police report signed by arresting Officer A.W. Fisher on Jan. 7 tells the story differently. Fisher states Heather was so out of control he heard her yelling before getting into the store. He said she was cursing at the cashier, store manager and customers and when he approached and asked her to calm down, she turned and cursed at him.
The report also states Fisher had to call two other officers for assistance after Heather began to flail wildly, swinging her arms and resisting arrest, which caused Fisher and Sgt. Joe D. Stewart to sustain injuries.
After being processed at the police station, Heather was released with no knowledge that charges were pending, according to Elliot Millner, legal advisor for the Your Black World Coalition, an organization working to draw attention to the incident. He said the initial charge – a misdemeanor, disturbing the peace – came later in the month.
Hester Ellis said the family spent a lot of time trying to find an attorney not afraid of or associated with the prosecutor, Stephen Sokoloff. Since this started, she said, two attorneys were fired because they continued to insist Heather agree to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge made in March 2007. She said two others withdrew for similar reasons. Heather’s mother said she refused this deal because she is innocent and will not admit guilt.
Millner said the one videotape from Walmart, released for the defense, does not show anything useful for either side in this case. If there are more tapes with information supporting the prosecution, Millner said Sokoloff should have released them to the defense as required by law. He added that the available tape was sent to the FBI to determine if it was altered. At this time, he said, the FBI has not completed its investigation and released a finding.
The initial charges were dropped in December 2007, according to Millner. However in January 2008, new charges, including two felony charges for assaulting a police officer, were filed and a warrant for Heather's arrest was issued on Jan. 4, 2008.
John Chasnoff, program director for the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, said there is a racial climate in Dunklin County that makes it hard for people of color to get a fair trial. "When you go to Kennett, you see the great wall that confronts people of color in the area," he said.
" The Black population of Kennett has never had proportional political representation. They're not represented proportionally on the police force. These types of racial situations in a town create these situations like Heather's. Looking at the details of the case, you can see the racial tensions, racial issues that have bubbled up to the surface. ... We will not have justice in individual cases until we have greater justice for the Black population as a whole."
Heather was in court on Oct. 22, this time for motion hearings. The prosecutor filed a motion to limit the information Heather could present in her defense before the jury, according to the Daily Dunkin in Kennett, Miss. This includes information on the character and past actions of arresting police officers, information about what occurred at the police station after the arrest, witnesses to Heather's character and any statements about how this impacted her life. It further asks for testimony from three witnesses to be eliminated, calling them "uncooperative," and that Heather, the daughter of a pastor and practicing Christian, be banned from "wearing or displaying any religious symbols or religion-specific clothing."
Response to this motion from Heather's lawyer was due Nov. 4 and another pre-trial hearing is schedule for Nov. 5, where a ruling could be shared.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, founder of the Your Black World Coalition, is planning a rally/march 11 a.m. Nov. 16 in Kennett, starting at the Walmart where Heather was arrested, and is encouraging people from all over to participate in support. Rev. Bonner said he is hoping for a turn out to rival the march in support of the Jena 6. They are also hoping the event will raise funds to help Heather's family the expenses related to this lengthy ordeal.