South MS man guilty in young man’s murder. ‘You stood there and watched,’ judge said
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge sentenced Alexis Preston to 45 years for the 2022 second-degree murder.
- Co-defendants Pierce and Parkman received life and 40-year terms respectively.
- Judge and prosecutors said defendants abducted, killed and concealed Cody Smith.
Alexis Dwight Preston, 39, of Delisle will serve 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping.
Circuit Court Judge Lisa Dodson handed down the sentence in the July 2022 kidnapping and murder of Cody Smith of Byram. Preston was also sentenced to serve 28 years under post-release supervision and ordered to repay Smith’s parents for his funeral.
Co-Defendant Angel “Lexi” Pierce pled guilty in March of this year to first-degree murder, a news release from District Attorney Crosby Parker’s office says. Pierce was sentenced to life in prison, to serve consecutively with 30 years, for murder and armed robbery.
A third co-defendant, Jerry Parkman, also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping in the case and will serve 40 years in prison. Parkman assisted law enforcement officers in locating the victim’s body 10 months after the murder on property adjacent to Preston’s family homestead, the news release says.
Smith had been reported missing from his home in Byram.
Mom addresses Mississippi Coast killer
Parkman told investigators what led to the crrime. He said Pierce wanted Smith’s car, so the three defendants took him into the woods at gunpoint and killed him.
“Angel Pierce and other witnesses later corroborated Jerry Parkman’s statement during the course of the investigation,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Daniel, who prosecuted the case, said in the news release. Assistant District Attorney Haley Broom assisted with prosecution.
According to the news release, Judge Dodson told Preston during his plea hearing: “You knew what was going to happen. You knew exactly what was going o happen . . . and you’re the man with the gun. So you’re the man who can make a difference, but you didn’t.
“You stood there and watched them stab him and beat him. You don’t run, you don’t call anybody and you don’t try to stop them, right? And then you let him sit down there and rot.”
Preston acknowledged what he had done and apologized to the family.
“God has been dealing with me every night and day,” he said.
Smith’s mother, Cherie Smith, also had a chance to address Preston, the news release said.
“Cody was a good kid,” she said. “He would help anyone he could. Cody did nothing to deserve the disgusting things you did to him . . .
“There was nothing for you to gain. I hope you never get Cody’s face, and what you did to him, out of your head. I hope you think of that every day for the rest of your life.”
