MS Coast man admits kidnapping & shooting Army veteran in domestic violence attack
A Mississippi Coast man has pleaded guilty to three felony charges in the attempted murder of his estranged wife in a home-invasion-style attack on the retired Air Force veteran and registered nurse.
Vinet Williams Moore, indicted initially on a charge of attempted murder in the domestic violence case, pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge of aggravated assault and additional charges of kidnapping and burglary.
Moore, 43, entered the pleas before Judge Calvin Taylor. Sentencing is deferred until Oct. 30.
As part of his plea, Moore, 43, admitted he shot and seriously injured his estranged wife, Michelle Coleman, after forcing his way inside her home and holding her against her will.
The attack occurred on Sept. 9, 2021, at Coleman’s home on Brookstone Drive in the St. Martin community in Jackson County. Coleman and her two children, then ages 9 and 15, were with her at the home when Moore showed up and forced his way inside.
Sheriff’s deputies went to the home in response to a 911 call around 7 a.m.
By the time deputies arrived the couple’s two children had escaped through a window.
Deputies exchanged gunfire with Moore, though no one was struck.
A deputy at the scene saw Coleman shot multiple times and managed to pull her out of a window to safety to get her immediate medical attention.
Deputies arrested Moore after a more than six-hour standoff at the home.
Prior to the shooting, Coleman had repeatedly reported her estranged husband for domestic violence and obtained protection orders to keep Moore away from her.
But that did nothing to stop Moore, her family said.
According to court records obtained by the Sun Herald, Coleman had been in and out of Justice Court to obtain domestic violence protection orders to try to keep Moore from harming her and their children.
In the court filing dating back to 2020, Coleman detailed how Moore allegedly attacked her in previous incidents.
In one case, Coleman said she had a cracked rib and other injuries after Moore tackled her “football-style,” shoved her head into a wall, and body-slammed her into the side of a couch.
In another incident, she said, Moore repeatedly hit her, held her in a bathroom and “pushed her into a toilet with such force that it broke.”
In a subsequent attack, Coleman said, Moore used a “sledgehammer” during the assault to crack open a gun safe.
After the shooting, then Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said deputies had responded to domestic violence calls involving Moore, but he wasn’t there when deputies arrived, so no arrest was made.
In addition, Moore violated a pending domestic violence protection order at the time of the shooting and had a warrant for his arrest on another domestic violence offense.
