From District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District –
On February 3, 2020, the Madison County, Tennessee, Grand Jury indicted Quincy Lamont Collins, aged thirty-eight (38), of Jackson, Tennessee, for Attempted First Degree Murder Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, Especially Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, and of being a Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The victim was an ex-girlfriend. The indictment was the product of an investigation by the Jackson Police Department Major Crimes Unit which revealed that in the early morning hours of September 7, 2019, the defendant entered the victim’s bedroom and shot her twice at close range with a .45 caliber handgun before taking her personal belongings and fleeing the scene. The victim survived her injuries but suffers from permanent disfigurement and disability.
On August 19, 2020, after a one-day trial, a Madison County jury convicted the defendant of all charges. Evidence presented at trial included a confession that the defendant gave to Sergeant Nick Donald following his arrest. In that statement, after first denying being at the crime scene, the defendant ultimately admitted to shooting the victim and then hiding the firearm. Jackson Police Department officers located the gun, and ballistic tests later matched the gun with the shell casings the defendant left at the crime scene. On September 25, 2020, the defendant was sentenced to serve thirty-one years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he has served just under 28 years.
“Every person should feel safe inside their home,” said District Attorney General Jody S. Pickens. “The defendant took that place of safety from the victim and by committing a brutal and senseless act of violence, turned it into a crime scene. Though the victim suffered harrowing injuries, she chose to persevere in difficult circumstances, hand-writing a statement accusing her attacker because she did not have the ability to speak. After such a horrible incident perpetrated by the defendant, we can never make her whole again, but we believe that this measure of justice will help her to feel safe once again. It is my hope that her bravery will inspire others to speak out against domestic violence, refusing as she did to accept this type of disregard for human life.”
The case was prosecuted on behalf of the citizens of the State of Tennessee by Assistant District Attorney General Bradley Champine and the case was investigated by the Major Crimes Unit of the Jackson Police Department with Sergeant Nick Donald having principal responsibility.
(PHOTO: District Attorney Jody S. Pickens)
