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By Drew Griffin and Scott Bronstein, CNN Special Investigations
August 8, 2011 2:49 p.m. EDT
Hate crime? Killing caught on video
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
James Craig Anderson, 49, was run over and killed on June 26
Authorities say a group of white teens targeted Anderson because he
was black
The suspected ringleader, Deryl Dedmon, Jr., 18, has been charged with
murder
Dedmon faces possible double life sentence for the murder
Editor's note: The following story contains language some readers may
consider offensive.
Jackson, Mississippi (CNN) -- On a recent Sunday morning just before
dawn, two carloads of white teenagers drove to Jackson, Mississippi,
on what the county district attorney says was a mission of hate: to
find and hurt a black person.
In a parking lot on the western side of town they found their victim.
James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old auto plant worker, was standing in
a parking lot, near his car. The teens allegedly beat Anderson
repeatedly, yelled racial epithets, including "White Power!" according
to witnesses.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith says a group of the
teens then climbed into their large Ford F250 green pickup truck,
floored the gas, and drove the truck right over Anderson, killing him
instantly.
Mississippi officials say it was a racially motivated murder. What the
gang of teens did not know was that a surveillance camera was focused
on the parking lot that night, and many of the events, including the
actual murder of Anderson, were captured live on videotape.
CNN has exclusively obtained that surveillance tape. The group of
teens that night was led by 18-year-old Deryl Dedmon, Jr., of Brandon,
Mississippi, according to police and officials.
Deryl Dedmon, Jr., right, could face two life sentences in connection
with the killing. John Aaron Rice, left, has been charged with simple
assault.
"This was a crime of hate. Dedmon murdered this man because he was
black," said Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith. "The
evidence will show that."
Asked if there could be any doubt whether the intent was to actually
hurt and kill a black person, Smith responded: "No doubt about it.
They were going out to look for a black victim to assault, and in this
case, even kill."
Dedmon led and instigated the attack from early in the evening, he
took part in the beating of Anderson, and Dedmon was also the actual
driver of the Ford 250 truck that would serve as the murder weapon,
according to officials.
As the teens were partying and drinking miles away from Jackson that
night, in largely white Rankin County, Dedmon told friends they should
leave, saying "let's go fuck with some niggers," according to law
enforcement officials.
Then, the gang of teens climbed into Dedmon's green truck and a white
SUV Cherokee, and drove 16 miles down Interstate 20, to the western
edge of Jackson, a predominantly black area.
The teens would have seen Anderson immediately as they exited the
highway, as the parking lot where he was standing is just beside the
exit ramp.
"This is the first business that you get to coming off the highway and
so that was the first person that was out here and vulnerable," said
district attorney Smith.
On the videotape, obtained and reviewed by CNN, the group of teens is
seen pulling into the parking lot, and stopping where Anderson is
standing, though he is just off camera and not visible.
The teens can then be seen going back and forth between their cars and
Anderson. Witnesses told law enforcement officials this is when the
repeated beatings of Anderson took place.
Dedmon pummeled Anderson repeatedly as he crumpled to the street,
according to officials, though this is not visible in the videotape.
Finally, after the beating some of the teens left and some got into
the green truck.
At this moment on the video, Anderson becomes visible, as he staggered
into view and walked towards the headlights of the truck. The truck
suddenly surges ahead, running over Anderson, then continuing at high
speed away from the scene.
Shortly after he allegedly drove the truck over Anderson, Dedmon
allegedly boasted and laughed about the killing, according to
testimony given by some of the teens to detectives.
"I ran that nigger over," Dedmon allegedly said in a phone
conversation to the teens in the other car.
He repeated the racial language in subsequent conversations, according
to the law enforcement officials.
"He was not remorseful he was laughing, laughing about the killing,"
said district attorney Smith.
Later that morning, James Craig Anderson's family learned their 49-
year-old brother and son died in a hit and run. Only later, when
witness statements were taken did they learn the real horror.
"It appears there is no doubt that this was a racially motivated
killing," said Winston Thompson, the attorney representing Anderson's
family. "The family is still in shock still in disbelief."
Smith and officials in the Hinds County District Attorney's office say
they plan to indict Dedmon for murder and a hate crime.
Deryl Dedmon is thin, weighing a mere 130 pounds, and short -- at 5
feet; he has straggly blond hair and piercing blue eyes.
The teen, just 18 years old, has been charged with murder and now
faces a possible double life sentence. Calls to Deryl Dedmon's
attorney have gone unanswered.
During a bond hearing his attorney told the court he saw nothing to
back up the "racial allegations."
At Dedmon's home, a girl who answered the door pretended not to know
him though the pick-up truck he allegedly used as a murder weapon
sticks out of the family's garage.
Police say they returned it after the vehicle was processed. A second
teen, 18-year-old John Aaron Rice, has been charged with simple
assault, for his part in the beating his attorney also did not return
calls.
Neither teen has entered a plea.
The other teens in the group have not been charged.
And James Craig Anderson's family has decided to remain silent for
now, trying to come to grips with a crime they thought was in
Mississippi's past: the murder of a man just because he was black.
--
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