Danny McDonald

Danny McDonald, accused of the 2009 murder of Jerome Hearn, pleaded to a “blind plea” with the District Attorney’s office and could face a sentence of 30 years after waiting for a trial for over three years. 

Police arrested McDonald in May of 2015. Since then, he has had his trial delayed nearly a dozen times, been assigned to three different public defenders and sat before three different judges.

Thomas Bittick, an assistant district attorney for the 10th Circuit, said that a “blind plea” put a 30-year cap on the sentence McDonald could face, rather than the maximum of 40 years. Bittick and McDonald’s public defender, Marvell Gordon, reached this agreement a few weeks prior, just before McDonald’s latest scheduled trial in May.

“We’ve agreed to a 30-year cap on the initial time to serve,” Bittick said.

The judge overseeing the case is not bound to this cap, however, and could still sentence McDonald to more than 30 years at his sentencing on June 13, which would restart the negotiation process, Bittick said. 

Bittick had been the prosecutor in the case against McDonald’s co-defendant, Georgio Rushing, who was also arrested in May of 2015 but pleaded guilty to armed robbery in April of 2017. He received a 20-year sentence, with eight to serve and 12 suspended. 

“(Rushing) had already agreed to testify against McDonald (in his plea deal),” Bittick said. “So I knew I had that already when I got Mr. McDonald.”

Sometime in the late fall, the district attorney’s office shuffled its attorneys and public defenders, Bittick said, pairing Bittick with Gordon. The 10th Circuit Court pairs attorneys together rather than assigning one prosecutor to all high-profile cases or death penalty cases. 

“Gordon does a good job of communicating with his clients,” Bittick said. 

Bittick said that factors such as criminal history, the amount of evidence, the age of the defendant and the impact of the crime are all factors in negotiating a plea deal.

McDonald will get three years of credited time served from his time at the Lauderdale County Detention Facility. 

Bittick discussed some of the factors that may slow cases down generally, including the extensive backlog at the State Crime Lab, especially the Medical Examiner’s Office, mental evaluations and number of defendants.

“One of the things that has slowed things down is autopsies,” Bittick said. “On the other hand, anytime you have multiple defendants you have multiple public defenders and have to coordinate their schedules.

“I don’t know how to fix that but that’s how it is.”

Other delays may have occurred before Bittick took over the case in the late fall.

Initially, Philip Weinberg, another ADA in the circuit, had been assigned to McDonald’s case with John C. Helmert Jr. as the public defender. The two attorneys frequently disagreed in the courtroom and exchanged at least one letter that laid out their long-standing dispute.

Helmert moved to Washington County for a full-time position as the assistant public defender in 2017. In Lauderdale County, all four public defenders are contract positions. 

Helmert filed a Motion for a Speedy Trial, a legal motion that attempts to speed up a delayed trial. Within a few days, the 10th Circuit District Attorney’s Office notified Helmert of new discovery on Oct. 2, saying it would be delivered to Helmert’s new office on Oct. 12.

That discovery was 600 pages of previously undisclosed documents.

Citing the untimely disclosure, Helmert asked to be excused. He no longer has any cases in Lauderdale County. 

Bittick serves in the Mississippi Air National Guard, something that has delayed a few other cases as well. Because of these duties, Bittick will not be at McDonald’s sentencing next week. 

McDonald’s sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. June 13.