Defendant Admits to Attack on Disabled Man

June 4, 2021 – A convicted felon just released from prison has pled guilty to attacking and robbing a disabled man who was carjacked and driven around the city for more than an hour in 2019, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Joseph Hamilton, 35, pled guilty as charged to aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and carjacking. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole by Criminal Court Judge Bobby Carter.

A codefendant facing the same charges has a court date later this month.

The incident occurred shortly after midnight on April 15, 2019, near North Hollywood and Harvard Avenue in the Binghampton area when the 33-year-old victim who uses a walker was attacked outside of his home.

The man told police he was struck in the back of the head with a heavy object and then was forced into the backseat of his car while his two attackers drove to several locations trying to use his credit card.

During the drive, a sheriff’s deputy stopped the vehicle and gave Hamilton’s codefendant, Jashoewa Hargrow, then 17, a speeding ticket. The victim said the two men threatened to kill him if he said anything as the deputy approached.

The deputy later was able to identify Hargrow and Hamilton in court.

The assailants put the victim out of the car several blocks from his home, leaving him with his walker and wheelchair. He was robbed of $418, his cellphone and his automobile.

The case was handled by Felony Asst. Regina Thompson and Asst. Dist. Atty. Forrest Edwards of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 3 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 11 and Criminal Court Division 3.