This website has been created solely for the purpose of informing the general public of the “behind the scenes” story of the trial and sentencing of Jeffrey P. (Jep) Horn.
Its intent is to reveal how an innocent man can be sent to prison for 12 years after a trial by jury where the initial poll of the jury was 11 to 1
in finding Mr. Horn NOT GUILTY.
How can this happen? Why would a jury make such a drastic change in their vote?
Please read the following. If you believe that a terrible injustice was done to Mr. Horn, as his family and friends believe, then please sign the petition.
It’s time to set an innocent man free.
The Beginning
In the Fall of 2014, Jep Horn went for treatment at his doctor’s office in Houston, MS. While there, he was attended by an LPN named Regenia Higginbotham. Only Ms. Higginbotham knows exactly how she came to know Jep’s address, but, within a month of Jep’s Doctor’s appointment, she went to Jep’s car lot, Southern Automotive, located on Highway 15N in Houston, MS and allegedly propositioned him for sex. And so, the turbulent relationship began. Jep’s own testimony revealed that it was a relationship that was mainly “sexual” in nature. At least, that’s the way he perceived it. Regenia seemed to want it to be an exclusive relationship. Jep did not and made his thoughts very clear to Regenia. However; Jep’s feelings on the matter did not deter Regenia. Not in the least. She seemed determined to have Jep all to herself.
Regenia Higginbotham
THE 1st ATTACK
On November 23rd, 2014, just a short time after meeting Regenia, Jep was at home watching television with a female companion. Again, Jep had made no commitment to Regenia in any way and was free to see whomever, whenever he wanted. It was Regenia that wanted an exclusive relationship. Not Jep. His cell phone rang. It was Regenia and they spoke for a couple of minutes then hung up. About 40 minutes later, there was a knock on the back door of Jep’s house. Jep thought, “I bet that’s Regenia”. As he opened the back door, he was rushed by Regenia who was in a state of hysteria. A struggle ensued as Jep tried to keep Regenia from entering through the next door that separated the utility room from the main part of the house. This door was mainly constructed of a single pane of glass. With Jep’s back against the glass pane door, trying to keep Regenia from entering, Regenia elbowed the glass pane of the door. The glass shattered. At this point, Jep continues to try and stop Regenia from entering by pushing her head towards the floor. While her head was pushed down, Regenia picks up a large piece of glass and begins stabbing and sawing on Jep’s leg. She manages to cut a large vein in Jep’s leg and there is a great amount of blood loss. Regenia is then able to enter through the second door of the home and begins frantically searching for the other woman who is, at this point, fearing for her life and hiding. Jep then calls 911.
Regenia admits to cutting Jep with glass from the door:
Regenia admits there is a great deal of blood loss by Jep:
It should be noted that this was not a “spur of the moment” attack. A sudden act of rage or jealousy. Regenia drove many miles (approximately 40) to get to Jep’s house. She parked in Jep’s car lot which is located approximately 150 yards in front of Jep’s house. She then walked through the darkness and had even taken the time to get the keys out of the vehicle of Jep’s companion (they were later discovered in Regenia’s pocket) before banging on his door. Clearly, this attack was premeditated.
Members of the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Department arrive and arrest Regenia. In her pocket, they discover a pair of scissors. Regenia claimed that she “found” the scissors in Jep’s front yard while walking through the darkness. Shockingly, Jep’s defense attorney agreed to allow the prosecution to suppress this evidence. The jury never heard this fact. She is taken into custody and charged with Simple Assault. However; Regenia never showed up for her court date. Later, Jep drops the charges against Regenia knowing that an assault conviction would result in Regenia losing her LPN license and job. Regenia is allowed by Jep to walk free.
THE 2nd ATTACK
Jep fully admits that allowing Regenia back into his life was an enormous error in judgement and would prove to be a very costly one. Extremely costly. But he did and there’s nothing that can be done to turn back time. So, the story continues. On the night of March 13th, 2015 Jep and Regenia visited the Pony, located outside of Columbus, MS. The Pony is a Strip Club. Jep stated under oath that Regenia was a willing participant and liked going there. They had gone there before. While to some, this may be a moral issue, or an issue of poor taste, it is NOT an illegal one. While Regenia was driving them home later that evening, another argument began. It was the same argument that always seem to occur. Regenia wanted an exclusive relationship. Jep did not. Once again, Regenia lost her temper and with her right hand “clawed” into the left side of Jep’s face.
Pictured is a photograph that was taken by Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Deputy Andy Harmon depicting the marks left by Regenia on the left side of Jep’s face.
THE 3rd ATTACK
On March 14th, 2015, Jep and Regenia had spent the better part of the day together. Both had been consuming alcohol. The day had gone smoothly until later that evening. Jep had gone out to the utility room of the house. Since it was separated from the main part of the house by a door, that is where he always went to smoke. While sitting in there, smoking a cigarette, Regenia opens the door that leads into the main part of the house. Once again, the same recurring argument begins. She wants an exclusive relationship. Jep refuses. The argument becomes heated. At this point, Jep testified that he saw a look in Regenia’s eyes that he had seen before. The same look she had that night that she burst into his home shouting “where is she, Jep?” The same look she had when she cut and stabbed him with a piece of glass. The same look she had when she dug her fingernails into his face. Jep knew she was about to become violent. Regenia then slammed the door which has a window in the top of it and took off running toward the back bedroom. She fully admits in court testimony that she was going for the pistol located in Jep’s bedroom beneath his mattress.
Jep knew that SHE knew where he kept a pistol under his mattress. Jep jumped up and began to run after her. He was hoping to get to her before she was able to get to his pistol. His mind began to race. He thought, “What if she gets to the pistol before I can catch her?” “How will I defend myself?” As he was running out of the utility room, he then decides to grab a second pistol that she didn’t know about from a cabinet. As he reaches the back bedroom, he is too late. Regenia already has the pistol and is facing him with the pistol pointed at him. He tries to hide behind the bedroom door frame. Again, his mind is racing. In a fraction of a second, he decides that its me or her. He’s got to stop her from killing him. He then reaches around the bedroom door frame and aims at her lower extremities so as NOT to kill her, but to wound her and stop her from killing him. The shot goes off. She is hit in the FRONT of her left thigh and falls to the floor. Jep grabs the pistol she had from the floor and runs back to the utility room and places both the pistol he has and the pistol she had on the washing machine. He knew that once the police arrived, having the pistols in plain sight would hopefully keep the arriving officers from firing their weapons. Jep calls 911.
THE VICTIM BECOMES THE ACCUSED
Although Jep was acting in self defense in his own home, he was the one arrested. He was the one interrogated. He was the only one charged with a crime. Jep was charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
The State Prosecutors questioned Jep during the trial as to why he didn’t just “run outside” when he suspected Regenia was going for his gun. Jep responded because “it’s MY house”.
The Mississippi Castle Doctrine, MS Code 97-3-15, adopted in 2006 reads as follows:
(4) A person who is not the initial aggressor and is not engaged in unlawful activity shall have no duty to retreat before using deadly force under subsection (1) (e) or (f) of this section if the person is in a place where the person has a right to be, and no finder of fact shall be permitted to consider the person’s failure to retreat as evidence that the person’s use of force was unnecessary, excessive or unreasonable.
Clearly, Jep was not the initial aggressor and had no duty to retreat from his own property. The use of deadly force is completely justified. The “bottom line” is if a person threatens your life by pointing a gun at you in your own home, you are legally allowed to shoot them.
THE TRIAL
The trial took place at the Chickasaw County Courthouse in Houston, MS, March 27th thru March 30th, 2017. Jep’s testimony remained consistent. Jep’s testimony matched up with crime scene as documented by a video taken by a Deputy Sheriff within minutes of their arrival. Jep stated in the initial police interview, which was on video, and throughout the entire trial that he knew Regenia was angry, she had attacked not once, but twice before and that he knew that when she slammed the door to the utility room and went running towards his bedroom that she was going for his gun. To protect himself in his OWN HOUSE, he went running after her and grabbed a second pistol along the way. He also stated from the very beginning that when he arrived at the bedroom, Regenia had already retrieved his pistol and was facing him with the pistol pointed at him. He testified that he tried to hide behind the door frame and in a split-second decision to save his own life he reached around the door frame, aimed at her lower extremities and fired.
OH, THE MANY OF LIES OF REGENIA
Regenia’s testimony, however, did NOT match up with the facts. Regenia did admit that she went running to the bedroom to get Jep’s pistol he kept under his mattress. However, she said she never touched his pistol. Remember, this was easy for her to say since NO fingerprints were found on either weapon. One would speculate that since Jep stated under oath that he fired one weapon and carried BOTH weapons to his utility room after the incident that his prints would be on at least one weapon. No, not even one was retrieved.
Regenia claimed that she was lifting the mattress and therefore facing the bed, away from Jep and not toward him, when she was shot. Video evidence proves this to be an impossible scenario.
She also testified in court that she wasn’t going through Jep’s phone (a clear sign of her possessiveness) after being shot and placed on a stretcher. Again, video evidence clearly shows her scrolling through Jep’s cell phone even while be placed onto a stretcher.
The truth of the matter is, photo and video evidence of the scene taken within minutes of its occurrence only support Jep’s testimony. The evidence DOES NOT SUPPORT REGENIAS TESTIMONY IN ANY WAY.
As previously mentioned, Regenia did admit that she was going for Jep’s pistol. From this point on, her story does not match up with the facts. Below is court testimony of Regenia stating that she was lifting the mattress when she was shot.
Below is a photograph of the entry wound. This photograph is from a video taken at the scene after law enforcement and EMTs had arrived. Clearly, the entry wound is in the FRONT of Regenia’s thigh.
If Regenia was about to lift the mattress, the bullet would have struck her in the side of her leg. Not the front.
Notice also that she is going through Jep’s cell phone. We know for a fact that this is Jep’s phone since Regenia had her own cell phone in the front pocket of her jeans. When the bullet struck her, it went through her cell phone. She was forced to admit this in court:
Below is another photo of Regenia’s wound. It was taken while Regenia was recovering in the hospital. The gauze is on top of the bullet entry point. The long incision is where the surgeon went in to repair her femur that was broken by the bullet. Again, the bullet entered Regenia’s thigh from the FRONT and NOT the side as she testified in court.
The photo below is a reenactment taken from the very bedroom that the incident took place. A laser sight was used to point to the entry spot as depicted in the photo above. The bed and furniture are in the exact positions they were that very night. Based on the trajectory of the bullet having been fired from the hallway as both Jep and Regenia stated in court, it proves that Regenia was indeed FACING Jep and NOT FACING the bed when she was shot.
.
The facts simply do not match up with Regenia’s lies. She claims she was lifting the mattress when she was shot. Below is a recreation of the lie that Regenia created.
The recreation above is extremely important in that it proves that Regenia had to be facing Jep and not the mattress when she was shot. The photo of Regenia’s wound clearly proves the bullet did NOT enter Regenia’s thigh from this angle.
As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Clearly, Regenia had to be facing Jep and not the mattress for the bullet to enter her thigh at the point depicted in the actual photo taken at the scene.
Another bold lie by Reginia is that she claimed she did not scroll through Jep’s phone after being placed on the stretcher. Even after being shot, she is so obsessed with Jep and his every action that she can’t help herself from going through his cell phone and checking up on his texts and phones calls. The EMT treating her in the ambulance stated her that on the ride to the emergency room in Tupelo, MS he had to forcefully tell Regenia to put Jep’s phone away.
We suppose Regenia forgot we’re in the day and age of video. Note that when she realized the video was being taken, she puts the phone behind her head.
The bottom line of this section is simple. Regenia lied, under oath, repeatedly and without any hesitation. The facts match up with Jep’s testimony and only Jep’s testimony. NOT Regenia’s.
As mentioned earlier, when the jury went to deliberate, they took an initial vote to see where everyone stood. 11 out of the 12 jurors believed that Jep did indeed act in self-defense and was justified in shooting Regenia. Jep was about to be a free man. So how did the jury go from an 11 to 1 Not Guilty vote to a Guilty one?
For jury deliberations, the court can give the jury certain “instructions” that are designed to “help” the jury come up with a verdict. The definition is as follows:
An instruction given by the court to a jury at the conclusion of presentation of all evidence in a trial, and after the lawyers’ closing arguments, to advise the jury of the law that applies to the facts of the case, and the manner in which they should conduct their deliberations.
The following is jury instruction S3 given to the jury:
The important thing to remember here is that these instructions are NOT actual laws. Sadly, for Jep, the jury thought they were. The wording of the instructions was such that the jury became confused as well. Take the first statement, for example: “if a person ‘provokes’ a difficulty, arming himself in advance”. This is clearly NOT the case. Jep did NOT “provoke the difficulty” nor did he arm himself BEFORE the “difficulty” began. He armed himself AFTER the “difficulty” had begun and AFTER Regenia went running for his pistol in order to protect himself.
The second statement is also misleading. It reads: “If you believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt the Defendant, Jeffrey Horn, provoked a difficulty with the alleged victim after having armed himself with a deadly weapon”. Once again, Jep armed himself AFTER the “difficulty”. NOT before.
Sadly, the jury thought that S-3 was actual law and there was no way to legally find Jep NOT GUILTY. To try and clear things up and confirm that they could indeed find Jep Not Guilty, a juror sent a note to the Judge.
The note reads as follows:
Notice that the note suggests that Jep is arming himself to “defend himself”. It is also asking if Jep can “still be innocent”.
This was the response the judge sent back to the jury:
The note reads as follows:
You have received all the instructions on this issue that are available. It is your duty as jurors to determine the facts and apply the law as given to these facts.
Amazingly, the actual trial judge is saying that there are no more instructions available. The trial judge, whose sole responsibility is to see that a fair trial is given and is the ONLY person that can give instructions for the jury to follow is saying that he can not give them any more guidance on the topic. Notice also that the judge includes the phrase “apply the law” in his response implying that S3 is actual law.
THE VERDICT
After reading jury instruction S-3 (which is not actual law) and receiving a confusing response from the judge stating they MUST follow the “law” and the “facts” contained within, the jury is convinced that they MUST rule in one way and one way only. They all voted Guilty. Jep and his family were stunned by the verdict. How could a guilty verdict be given when it was so obvious to everyone in attendance at the trial that Jep had acted in self-defense?
JUROR REMORSE
It took a few days before the confusion was cleared up. Out of the goodness of her heart, a juror, spoke up and told Jep’s family members what had taken place behind closed doors. She was stricken with guilt at convicting an innocent man. She was so distraught; she even wrote a letter to the court explaining what happened during deliberations and how the jury felt all along that Jep did indeed act in self-defense.
A portion of the juror’s letter to the court is listed below and reads as follows:
As I sat and listened to the entire trial, I saw that Mr. Horn was in FACT NOT GUILTY and he acted in a manner of self-defense. It wasn’t until the jurors reported to the jury room to, deliberate, that we noticed we had NO CHOICE, but to vote Mr. Horn GUILTY!
Every juror felt as I did wanted to render a plea of NOT GUILTY, only acting in Self defense, BUT we were given a set of “laws” to follow as well as “Jury Instructions.” ONLY ONE piece of paper changed the ruling. “States Jury Instructions” S-3. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The paper Clearly stated we had to vote GUILTY! The way it was worded…..
The actual letter written by the juror:
MONEY – THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL
Mike Horn, Jep’s older brother, testified at the Sentencing Hearing that in late February 2017 he and his wife (Bonnie) had visited the clinic where Regenia works to receive treatment. After being taken to an examination room, Regenia came into the room. Mike testified that she began to cry. He testified that Regenia said she still loved Jep and that she didn’t want Jep to go to prison. Mike and Bonnie sat there quietly and listened to her. After leaving the clinic, they discussed what had transpired and they both felt a little peace come over them. Surely, they thought, Regenia will do the right thing and finally tell the truth about pointing a pistol at Jep. Also, on April 1st, 2017, Jep’s sister, Shannon Carter, met Regenia in the hallway at Trace Regional Hospital where they were both employed. Regenia hugged Shannon, began to cry and say that she was “so sorry” and that she didn’t want Jep to go to prison.
So why did Regenia get on the witness stand and tell so many lies? Well, perhaps, it’s the fact that she was given $20,000.00 through the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. This money was paid as “restitution” and given directly to Regenia. In the Sentencing Order, you can see where the court requires Jep to pay back the Mississippi Attorney General’s Victim Compensation Fund in the exact amount listed above. Money is a powerful motivator and $20,000.00 is a lot of money to an LPN. Don’t believe it? See the attached court document below:
IF SHE CAN’T HAVE HIM, NO ONE CAN
It may also be possible that Regenia was so obsessed with Jep that sending him to prison would prevent him from seeing anyone else. What better way, right? During the sentencing hearing, Regenia got on the witness stand and told the judge she wanted Jep to receive the MAXIMUM sentence of 20 years!
CONCLUSION
Obviously, Jep has suffered terribly because of the events that unfolded. An innocent person should not have to remain imprisoned simply because a jury became confused and voted in contradiction to their initial vote thinking they had no other choice. If after reading this in its entirety and you, too, believe that an enormous injustice has been done, please sign the attached petition. This petition will go directly to the Governor of Mississippi requesting a full pardon as listed under Section 124 – Reprieves and Pardons of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi.
On behalf of Jep, his family and friends, and all that support and love Jep. We thank you for your time in reading this. We would also like to thank you in advance for helping to right a wrong by letting an innocent man go free.