From The Mississippi Link Newswire
Victim was beaten; body dumped in an Alabama field
JACKSON – Federal officials said Darian “Drake” Pierce, 35, of Bogalusa, Louisiana, and Ricky L. Wedgeworth, 38, of Memphis, Tennessee, have pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping.
Pierce and Wedgeworth entered their plea on Feb. 11 in federal court. They will both be sentenced on May 30, 2013.
Officials said on March 4, 2011, Pierce and Wedgeworth escaped from the Louisiana State Police Headquarters compound where they were both serving 25-year sentences. They traveled to the Fairfield Inn in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where, on March 7, they assaulted, carjacked, and kidnapped the victim, David Cupps, a businessman from Sunbury, Ohio.
The victim died as a result of the assault by Wedgeworth and Pierce, and his body was found on March 8 in a field in Bessemer, Alabama.
The two escapees, still driving the victim’s rental car, were stopped by a Tennessee state trooper on March 8. During the encounter, Wedgeworth claimed to be the victim before fleeing the scene with Pierce. A high-speed chase ensued near Waverly, Tennessee and the pair were pursued by several law enforcement agencies.
The vehicle was later immobilized after it was struck by a police vehicle. While Wedgeworth remained inside, Pierce fled on foot carrying a pipe wrench. He ran into a nearby wooded area and fought with officers prior to being taken into custody.
Cupps blood and DNA were found in the vehicle.
Wedgeworth and Pierce each face a maximum penalty of life in prison at sentencing.
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