Lamar County Justice Court Judge Bill Anderson set a bond for Andrew David Cook without the accused killer ever stepping foot in a court room.
Judge Bill Anderson is a Lamar County Justice Court Judge who set a bond for Donivan Barnes' accused killer, Andrew David Cook, a 23 year old white man, for only $10,000. "Manslaughter and or any other non-capital crime involving loss of human life" bond ranges from $10,000 to $1,000,000 according to the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure.
The community and the victim's family have been outraged with such a low amount for a bond considering the fact someone was killed. Donvian, a 26 year old African American, was discovered by his family members dead in a ditch on Westover Drive in Hattiesburg, MS.
This is not the first time the judge has outraged the community over a bond. Judge Bill Anderson was found guilty by the Supreme Court of improperly reducing a defendants bond, which led to him being suspended, similar to Donivan's case.
However in this case, Donivan's accused killer, Andrew David Cook never stepped one foot in any court room. Judge Bill Anderson set Cook's bond for $10,000 without ever seeing him in a court room after he was charged for killing Donivan. The bond was set after court was closed. There was no clerk in the courtroom. There is no record of what was said or who said what.
Andrew David Cook who has been accused of killing Donivan Barnes never spent one night in jail. He only appeared at the Lamar County Jail on Thursday, October19, 2023 for booking and was immediately released, 2 days before Donivan's Barnes funeral, which was held Saturday, October 21, 2023 in downtown Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Out of the 31 cases before Judge Bill Anderson during October 15-21, 2023, accused killer Andrew David Cook was not one of them and did not appear on any court dockets. Out of the 6 inmates appearing before Judge Bill Anderson during October 15-21, 2023 for a bond, accused killer Andrew David Cook was not one of them neither was he on any court record before the court with the other 6 inmates.
According to court documents Hattiesburg News has received, Cook was charged with, "Leaving The Scene of An Accident Causing Death," according to the "Affidavit in the State Case" as seen below. According to the state's statue 63-3-401(4), Cook could only received a maximum of 20 years in prison if he's found guilty.
This is not the first time Judge Bill Anderson has sparked controversy in the community or been accused of misconduct, improprieties, or illegal activities as a judge. He was suspended by 15th Circuit Court Judge R. I. Pritchard for 30 days without pay after being charged by the Mississippi Supreme Court with 2 counts of judicial misconduct. The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance said Anderson failed to issue rulings in cases among issues with setting bonds for defendants.
Judge Bill Anderson is up for re-election on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 against local attorney Shronda Carter.
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