Armed holdup of pizza delivery driver sends former D’Iberville football star to prison

Former D’Iberville football star Jacquelle Christopher Green had hoped to play college football until his arrest in two armed robberies made the news.

He had signed with the University of Texas-San Antonio in 2016, but UTSA dropped him when they learned he’d been accused in the armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver in D’Iberville and in an armed robbery in Pensacola, Florida.

Green pleaded guilty Tuesday in the March 2016 incident involving a pizza delivery driver, admitting he was the driver who followed the delivery man while a friend donned a ski mask and readied for the holdup, District Attorney Joel Smith said.

Police pulled the car over on Lamey Bridge Road, saying the vehicle was being driven erratically and without headlights. During the traffic stop, police were alerted to the armed holdup of a pizza driver in the River’s Edge subdivision. They found evidence from the robbery in the car and arrested Green and his friend, Jonathan Britt, said ADA Ian Baker, who prosecuted the case.

Judge Larry Bourgeois sentenced Green after his plea Tuesday, giving him a 15-year prison term. Bourgeois suspended 10 years, leaving five years to be served day-for-day, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Green was sentenced in Harrison County Circuit Court in Biloxi.

His accomplice in the D’Iberville robbery was 17 at the time. Britt pleaded guilty in 2017. Judge Lisa Dodson sentenced him to 30 years in prison and suspended 24 years, with six years to serve in prison. Dodson also gave Britt five years of probation.

Green also faces charges of home invasion and armed robbery in Gulf Park Estates in Ocean Springs from a December 2017 holdup. That robbery occurred days after Green bonded out of jail on the D’Iberville charge, Baker said.

Green grabbed the attention of college recruiters early on. Alabama, LSU, Georgia and others sought him out, according to Sun Herald archives.

Green played several positions for the Warriors, including quarterback.

His efforts earned him a spot on the Sun Herald’s All-Star South Mississippi Football Team in 2015. He earned the spot after throwing for 1,234 yards, rushing for 1,459 yards and for 31 touchdowns. He also made 26 tackles with two interceptions.

This story was originally published July 24, 2018 at 7:21 PM.