Manslaughter suspect will have to serve previous sentence for assault

William Moore, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
·3 min read

Mar. 1—TUPELO — A Baldwyn man accused of stabbing a man to death in late February will serve his full sentence for a previous violent crime.

Maurice Agnew, 54, will soon be sent to a state prison to begin serving the more than 17 years that were suspended when he was found guilty of a 2018 aggravated assault for cutting a man's throat with a knife. District Attorney John Weddle's office has already begun the revocation process to turn Agnew over to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Agnew, of 567 Clark Lane, Baldwyn, was arrested Feb. 21 and charged with manslaughter in the stabbing death of Thelbert Randall Cowley, 56, of Saltillo. The victim suffered injuries to his chin and had stab wounds in the shoulder and chest. Agnew was booked into the Lee County Jail the same day and remains incarcerated there on a $1 million bond.

At the time of his arrest, Agnew was free on probation for his 2018 charge. Following his recent arrest, many people questioned how Agnew could have been free after similarly attacking another man. According to the August 2018 aggravated assault indictment, Agnew cut the victim "about the face and neck."

For that crime, Agnew sat in the Lee County Jail while awaiting trial. Because of delays and continuations in the legal case, plus the COVID-19 pandemic, he was housed in the county facility for more than two years rather than being moved to a state penitentiary. During that time, Agnew rejected both a plea deal by the district attorney's office and a jury trial, deciding to take his chances and have a single judge decide his fate.

During a one-day bench trial in August 2020, Circuit Judge John White found Agnew guilty of the assault. He was sentenced to 20 years, but was given credit for the 2 years and 5 months he had already served in the county jail. The remainder of the sentence was suspended.

The judge's sentence was consistent with most aggravated assault cases, where a guilty verdict typically results in a 5-year sentence to serve. With good behavior, MDOC could reduce the sentence roughly in half. Agnew had already served that much time and was released.

In most convictions where the time to serve is reduced, the remainder of the sentence is suspended. That time is still on the books and hanging over the convicted person's head if they fail to live up to the terms of the post-release supervision, commonly called probation.

Agnew was ordered to serve five years of post-release supervision. As part of that agreement, Agnew agreed to not break any laws, to stay away from firearms, drugs, alcohol, and "persons or places of disreputable or harmful character." He also agreed to find and maintain a steady job, and to report regularly to his Department of Corrections supervising officer.

With his arrest for the killing of Cowley, Agnew reneged on his supervision agreement. That means he will have to serve out the portion of the original 20-year sentence that the judge suspended. He will serve that time in a state prison and be brought back to Lee County on occasion for court appearances related to the manslaughter case.

If convicted of manslaughter, any additional prison time could be served at the same time (concurrently) as the aggravated assault sentence, or the judge could force him to serve the second sentence consecutively or after the first one is concluded.

william.moore@djournal.com

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