A man who is charged with two counts of capital murder in Jackson County was previously convicted in a 2010 manslaughter case in Independence County.
Rickey Don Crawford, Jr., 40, entered a negotiated plea of guilty in the Sept. 12, 2008, death of a roommate when the two lived together on North Charlotte Road in Independence County.
In the court information from that incident, Deputies were dispatched to 1510 North Charlotte Rd. at 5:23 that morning on a call of a neighbor stating a man was at his residence saying he found his roommate dead. Officers went inside the residence and found the victim, Robert Holland, lying on the floor in front of the door deceased.
Deputies reported there were two deep lacerations on the victim’s right arm.
Officers said when they talked with Crawford he stated: “I hope I didn’t do this.”
Investigators in the court information said Crawford did admit there had been an altercation between the two, and Holland had received the fatal injury during the altercation. Detectives also said there was an approximate time lapse of four to five hours before Crawford attempted to notify anyone of the situation. The facts constituting reasonable cause of arrest also stated that Crawford was taken to the Independence County Jail where he consented to a blood/alcohol test that resulted in a reading of .15. Point-08 is considered intoxicated.
On Feb. 19, 2010, Crawford entered into a negotiated plea of guilty and was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined $1500.00 plus court costs.
Now he is back in jail awaiting trial on two capital murder charges. In that case (read details here), he is accused of killing his pregnant wife and unborn child.
Crawford’s bond was set at $100,000.
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