Victim of alleged hate crime 'satisfied' with upgraded attempted murder charges
D'Monterrio Gibson, the 24-year-old Mississippi man who authorities say escaped a racially motivated attempted murder, said he's "satisfied" that charges were upgraded against the two men suspected of ambushing him.
A Lincoln County grand jury indicted Gregory Case, 57, and Brandon Case, 35, who are father and son, on Monday for the attempted murder of Gibson. The two previously faced aggravated assault charges.
Lincoln County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Johnny Hall told ABC News the men were arrested after a jury released the indictments for their arrests for attempted murder, conspiracy and shooting into a vehicle.
On Jan. 24 around 7 p.m. in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Gibson was attempting to deliver FedEx packages and was allegedly ambushed by Gregory Case as he was pulling out of a driveway, according to Gibson's attorney Carlos Moore. Moore said Brandon Case shot at his client's vehicle.
According to affidavits obtained by ABC News, Brandon Case attempted to cause bodily injury to Gibson after allegedly shooting at the FedEx rental he was driving. Gregory Case was previously charged with aggravated assault after allegedly chasing Gibson with his pickup truck and trying to block him from leaving a driveway.
"I'll be more satisfied when we get to trial and see how everything plays out," Gibson told ABC News on Tuesday.
Moore said he and Gibson were disappointed it took so long for the charges to be upgraded.
"Ten months, nearly 10 months from the date he was accosted, assaulted, almost killed, we finally have an indictment or indictments," Moore said.
Moore said he's asked the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the FBI to investigate Gibson's case as a hate crime.
"I can see no other reason than white supremacy racial animus towards Mr. Gibson that motivated the Cases to do what they did," Moore said.
Attorneys for the Cases did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
The Cases will be arraigned in December, according to Moore, and a trial may begin as early as May 2023.
According to the Brookhaven municipal court, attorneys for the Cases entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.
Moore said FedEx sent Gibson back on the same route after the alleged incident took place and plans to sue the company for "racial discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress."
Gibson said he's currently in therapy to heal from the alleged incident.
"I'm still trying to cope with everything ... really there's been no progress as far as therapy," he said.
"FedEx takes this situation very seriously, and we remain both saddened and outraged by what Mr. Gibson experienced," A FedEx spokesperson said in a statement obtained by ABC News. "At FedEx, our workforce is as diverse as the world we serve, and the safety of our team members is our top priority. We remain focused on Mr. Gibson’s wellbeing and continue to support him, including pay under our benefits policy."
ABC News' Kendall Ross contributed to this report.
