He planned to kill himself, but fate intervened before this Coast man pulled the trigger

Justin Lee Curtis blew his big break.

A judge in October sentenced Curtis to eight years in prison for possessing methamphetamine that he intended to sell. But the judge, Roger Clark, suspended the sentence and put Curtis on probation.

Curtis, 20, had a chance to avoid jail if he followed the many rules for felony offenders: no drugs, no guns, no alcohol. And he had a fine to pay.

Curtis was back in court Monday, again before Judge Clark. The state probation department was recommending that his probation be revoked.

Curtis, in shackles and a jail jumpsuit, was pulled over June 11 in Smith County.

Deputy Sheriff Jason Runnels testified that Curtis admitted he was carrying methamphetamine and a gun, both felonies. Curtis also had a misdemeanor amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Clark asked Curtis if he had any questions for the officer. “I don’t have any questions, your honor. I was in the wrong,” Curtis said.

It was Curtis’ turn to talk. He said that he had been doing good. He had been working for his father then started a new job at a mobile home company in Saucier. He was hoping to make a dent in his court fine payments.

Then Biloxi police showed up at his job. His father was dead. He had hung himself. The officers asked that he follow them to his father’s house in Biloxi.

“He was hanging there,” Curtis told the judge. “I identified the body and all of that. After I saw my daddy, it threw me off.”

He was on his way to his father’s memorial service in Mize, Mississippi, when Runnells pulled over the driver, a female who was not identified in court.

“I’m a good dude, sir,” Curtis told the judge.

Even the probation officer felt bad for Curtis. “This is a very hard case, given the circumstances,” the officer said.

She recommended the judge give Curtis three years to serve on his original eight-year sentence. Nobody knows what will happen with the new charges in Smith County. A grand jury must first decide whether there is enough evidence to formally charge Curtis.

Clark noted Curtis was accused of having two different kinds of drugs in the car, plus scales to weigh drugs in the trunk and the gun, which was loaded.

Clark sentenced Curtis to serve four years in prison, saying Curtis had not paid much on his court fines and still owed $3,343.

Curtis told the judge that the gun had only one bullet in it. The young man said he had been planning to take his own life after his father’s suicide.

“I was kind of thankful we got caught like that,” Curtis said, “because, if not, I might have taken my life.”