On the evening of October 23, 2008, Michael David Porter, a 44-year-old man from Hattiesburg, was fatally shot in Moss Point, Mississippi. He and his wife, Linda Porter, had become lost while trying to find their grandson's football game and had pulled into a gas station to ask for directions. It was there that they were tragically confronted by a group of teenagers with the intent to rob them for money to attend the Jackson County fair.
As Michael Porter got out of his vehicle, he was approached by three young men. His wife, who remained in the car, witnessed one of the individuals, who had a white towel over his head, fire a gun. The single shot shattered the car's glass, and her husband tragically informed her that he had been shot before collapsing. The incident was a senseless act of violence that stemmed from a planned robbery.
The investigation into Michael Porter's murder led to the arrest of four local teenagers: 16-year-old Darwin M. Wells, 15-year-old Terry Hye Jr., 14-year-old Tevin James Benjamin, and 17-year-old Alonzo Kelly. Wells was identified as the shooter. In a videotaped statement, Wells claimed he only intended to ask Porter for a dollar and that the gun, which he believed to be jammed, went off accidentally. Police later recovered a. 38-caliber revolver from his grandmother's home.
The legal proceedings that followed were complex and spanned several years. Darwin M. Wells, the triggerman, was convicted of capital murder. Terry Hye Jr. was also convicted of capital murder and initially sentenced to life without parole. However, due to a Supreme Court ruling regarding cruel and unusual punishment for minors, he was later resentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Tevin James Benjamin was initially convicted, but his conviction was overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court due to a violation of his Miranda rights during police questioning. He was later acquitted in a retrial.
