The conviction and sentence of an Indianola man convicted of manslaughter was upheld in the Mississippi Court of Appeals this week.
Damian Buck was accused of the April 24, 2019 murder of De’Aubrey Roscoe. Although initially charged with first degree murder, Buck was found guilty in June 2023 of manslaughter. He was also found guilty of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Buck and another man, Samuel Barnes, both turned themselves in to the Indianola Police Department in the days following the shooting, Buck claiming self-defense at the time.
According to The Enterprise-Tocsin’s report that week, the victim and the shooter both apparently had weapons when Roscoe and Barnes had a physical altercation at an Oak Street residence.
Roscoe allegedly had a .38 special and Buck had a 9mm handgun.
The Court of Appeals this week said that the jury found Buck’s self-defense claim to not be credible, and that it was up to the jury to make that determination.
“Buck’s conviction was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence; the jurors heard Buck’s claim of self-defense and found it to be not credible,” the ruling read. “That finding is the jury’s role alone. The State’s comments on Buck’s silence were not clearly improper, and because our analysis reveals no clear, obvious error and no prejudice to Buck, we find no plain error on this issue. Buck’s conviction and sentence are hereby affirmed.”
During the altercation between Barnes and Roscoe earlier in the evening, Barnes said he minimized the altercation and went into the house to diffuse the potential fight, IPD said at the time. Barnes said that he and Buck went into a back room for a discussion but did not say what the discussion was about.
The two of them then left and went down the street to Roscoe’s home where an argument between the three escalated to shots fired.
Barnes claimed at the time that when the shooting started, he and Roscoe ran west on Oak Street, while Buck reportedly stood still firing his weapon.
Roscoe was hit and fell in a neighbor’s yard, but reportedly got up and was shot a second time and fell again. A witness reported that Buck continued to fire until his clip was empty.
A third person was also arrested at the time for impeding the investigation, which officers said may have led to two innocent people being injured in an apparent retaliatory shooting.
Fourth Circuit Judge Margaret Carey McCray presided over the original case.
Barnes’ case was severed from Buck’s. The E-T could not find any further information on the status of Barnes’ case.
