By Emily Thompson
Assistant District Attorney in Harris County
Based on a unique experience I had last year, I offered to prepare a training for our misdemeanor prosecutors on the best practices for RIP calls in family violence cases. In Harris County our initial contact with complainants is known as an RIP call, which stands for restitution, injury, and punishment. As a misdemeanor prosecutor, RIP calls are a daily occurrence and help determine how to proceed with a case.
These calls are pretty straightforward: You call the complainant, ask what happened, ask for an opinion on punishment, and ask if s/he is willing to testify. Depending on the charge, there may be additional questions to ask or information to gather. In family violence cases, for example, we need to know if the victim wants a protective order and/or a no-contact order. It’s also important to ask about prior incidents of family violence. For every call, you take notes during the conversation, save them to the case file, and move on to the next call.
I learned a lot about how to best handle these cases when the work I did on a misdemeanor family violence case—years and years ago—helped convict a defendant of capital murder. You never think the work you do on a misdemeanor case is going to be used as evidence in a capital murder trial—until it is.
My RIP call to Maya
It was 2016 and I had been a prosecutor for all of nine months. I had just been promoted and was now the No. 2 prosecutor in a misdemeanor court, where I was trusted to handle more serious misdemeanors, such as assault of a family member. It was my first week in the new position.
On this particular day, I arrived at the office a few hours before docket (per usual for all trial court prosecutors) to review and screen the new cases that came in overnight. The most time-sensitive cases are those on that day’s docket where the defendant is still in custody. Two of my cases that day stemmed from the same incident and defendant. The charges were for assault of a family member and criminal mischief. The defendant, Jarvis Hickerson, was alleged to have assaulted his girlfriend, Maya, and damaged items in her apartment. According to the deputy’s summary, the assault was a slap on the arm and a kick to the leg. The injuries were listed as a small cut on Maya’s finger from Hickerson snatching her apartment keys out of her hand and a scratch on her leg from him kicking her. The damage in Maya’s apartment was two broken mirrors, a damaged TV, and a damaged TV stand.
Part of the screening process is to attempt to contact the complainant before docket, so I called the number I had for Maya but her sister Laura answered. At the time of the offense Maya didn’t have a phone because Hickerson had broken it during a prior altercation, but since the offense, Maya had gotten a new phone and Laura gave me her new number. Laura said that on the night of the offenses Maya called her from an IHOP needing a ride home because Hickerson had left her there. Laura picked Maya up and drove her to her apartment. Laura couldn’t stay because she had her young children with her. Laura said Maya went to her neighbor’s apartment and called 911. I made notes about what Laura was telling me. My practice at the time was to take handwritten notes as I talked to a complainant, but after this case I switched to typing notes when possible. Even if I had to hand-write notes for some reason, later I would type up my handwritten notes and save both versions in the file.
Next, I called Maya. She didn’t answer so I left a voicemail. Right before I headed to docket, Maya called me back. At this point it had been a little over 24 hours since the offenses occurred and Hickerson was still in custody. When I spoke with Maya, she seemed a bit embarrassed but was willing to talk and answer my questions. She confirmed that the deputy’s summary of what happened was accurate. She told me that she and Hickerson had been dating for four to five months. This was the first time she (successfully) called the police, but it wasn’t the first time Hickerson had assaulted her. She described how after one assault she tried to call police but he took away her phone and broke it. Another time Hickerson hit her so hard that it left bruises, which her coworkers later saw. Maya also shared that Hickerson told her if she ever called police on him, he would shoot up her house.
Next, I let her know that her request (made to the responding deputy) for a Magistrate’s Order of Emergency Protection had been granted, and I explained what it was and when it expired. Then I asked her if she would also like an order of no-contact. She said she would. Maya was very fearful that Hickerson would retaliate against her now that she had finally reported his abuse to police. I asked which address she would like listed in the no-contact order; and she wanted all of them listed: her residence, work, school, and her sister’s residence (where she was living at the time). Maya said she was too scared to live alone at her apartment.
We wrapped up the call with questions about her opinion on punishment and her willingness to testify. She felt the defendant deserved jail time and she was willing to testify if needed. After drafting the no-contact order, I headed to court for docket.
The court was in trial so we had to run docket out of the coordinator’s office. With 50 cases on docket, it was hectic to say the least. Back then we had paper files, so we would attach no-contact orders to the front of the file so everyone knew to approach on the order before resetting the case.
Understandably, the defendant’s court-appointed attorney didn’t want to wait for a break in trial to approach on the no-contact order. He asked if we could reset the case and approach on the order at the next setting in a week. I didn’t want to be unreasonable or difficult, but he hadn’t heard the fear in Maya’s voice like I had. And if he didn’t read my RIP call notes in the file, he didn’t know about the threat Hickerson made and the prior unreported assaults. I relayed all of this to the defense attorney and insisted we approach on the order that day. During a break in trial, we approached with Hickerson, and the no-contact order was granted. Unknown to me at the time, Hickerson posted bail the next day and was released. His bonds were set at $5,000 on each case.
The next week I was in a highly contested DWI trial that lasted a few days. When I returned to my office after a long day of trial, I was told a woman had called me multiple times and said it was urgent I call her back. The woman calling was one of Maya’s other sisters. I’ll refer to her as Tina. I immediately called Tina back. Tina told me that Maya was missing. She wasn’t at home and she wasn’t at work. No one had seen or talked to her in almost 48 hours. Her other sister, Laura, last saw Maya two days prior when Hickerson picked her up from Laura’s apartment. According to Tina, Hickerson was the last person to see or talk to Maya.
By now Maya’s friends and family had reached out to Hickerson to see if he knew where she was. He told different people different things: that he last saw Maya at her apartment as she was getting ready to leave for work or that she was probably in Florida with her ex-boyfriend. For many reasons, Tina was suspicious. For one, when Hickerson and Maya were on good terms, he would drive her to work because her car was inoperable (because after one of their fights Hickerson poured something in the car’s gas tank, forcing Maya to rely on him or an Uber to get to work). So it seemed unlikely that he would have left Maya’s apartment when she was getting ready for work and not driven her to work. Second, Maya wasn’t at work and she hadn’t called in to say she’d be out. And third, if Maya was in Florida, she would have told someone.
The family had already filed a missing person’s report, but because Maya was an adult and it had been less than 48 hours, they weren’t sure how much attention the case was getting. They were exhausting all resources to find her. My initial thoughts were: I really hope Maya is OK; I need to talk to my chief; I need to request that Hickerson’s bonds be revoked for violating the no-contact order; and I hope I took good notes when I talked to Maya the week before.
It isn’t every day your complainant’s family calls to tell you the complainant is missing (not even in Harris County), so I definitely needed guidance on how best to proceed. After talking to my chief, we asked our investigator to try locating Maya. Next, I prepared to approach the court to revoke Hickerson’s bonds based on him having contact with Maya.
All judges are different, and some need more than others to revoke a defendant’s bond based on a bail violation. Hickerson admitted to Maya’s family he picked her up from Laura’s apartment, but Laura didn’t actually see him or see Maya get in his car. Also, Hickerson told multiple people he was with Maya at her apartment that night and into the early morning. The defense attorney and I approached on the matter two days after Maya went missing. Tina came to court prepared to testify if need be, but the judge didn’t require it and revoked the defendant’s bond based on his admission of contact to multiple people.
Three days after Maya went missing, our investigator went to Hickerson’s last known address with the arrest warrant in hand. Hickerson was located and arrested, and his cell phone was taken into custody.
With the defendant back in custody on the two misdemeanors, the bonds were raised to $20,000 each. Maya was still missing. The detective on the missing person’s case interviewed Hickerson and he admitted to being with Maya at her apartment on the day she went missing. Based on that and surveillance video from Maya’s apartment complex which showed Hickerson’s truck arriving and leaving, he was charged with violation of a protective order.
About two months after Maya went missing, Hickerson made bond on his three misdemeanor cases. Maya was still missing. By now, the cases had been transferred to our domestic violence division and my involvement as a prosecutor was over. It felt like forever, but about 70 days after she went missing, Maya’s remains were located in a shallow grave in a wooded area in Montgomery County. Dental records had to be used to identify her.
Soon after the discovery, Hickerson was charged with capital murder. The indictment alleged that while in the course of committing and attempting to commit retaliation against Maya, he intentionally caused her death by an unknown manner and means. Retaliation. That meant the work I did on a misdemeanor case was being used as evidence in a capital murder.
A capital case
The case had delay after delay, first with Hurricane Harvey and then COVID. Also, the defendant kept “firing” his court appointed attorneys which dragged the case out even longer. I am thankful I was too swamped with work to properly freak out, but as the years went by, I definitely wondered if I would ever be called to testify.
Finally, in 2024, eight years after Maya’s murder, Hickerson went to trial for killing her. The trial prosecutors reached out and let me know my testimony was needed. Even though I always knew it was a possibility, I couldn’t believe it was finally here. I felt every emotion; eager, nervous, happy (the family would finally get their day in court), concerned, confident. I was glad I could help the case, but I was also nervous to testify. What would the defense ask on cross? What would I be allowed to testify to? Would my testimony be helpful?
I want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate all the witnesses we call to testify, especially witnesses in jury trials. You truly can’t understand what it feels like to be in their shoes unless you’ve been there. The more you can prepare a witness the better, which I know is an obvious statement. But if testifying was nerve- wracking for me, imagine how scary it is for someone who doesn’t do this for a living. Keeping witnesses in the loop and making sure they understand what’s expected of them can only help a case.
The trial prosecutors made sure I was well-prepared. I knew exactly what I could and could not testify to. My testimony was to help prove the murder was in retaliation for Maya calling the police and the charges that followed. The only statement of Maya’s I was allowed to testify about was that Hickerson had threatened to shoot up her house if she ever called the police. I also testified about my impression of Maya: that she was very scared of what the defendant would do now that she had called the police. Her fear was evident from her wanting a protective order and an order of no-contact that included all of her addresses.
After a great presentation of evidence by the trial prosecutors, the jury found Jarvis Hickerson guilty of capital murder and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Takeaways
The way we work up a family violence case can have a lasting effect not only on that particular case but on future cases involving the same complainant and/or defendant.
First, when it comes to making contact with the complainant in a family violence case, time is of the essence—the sooner, the better. We want to talk to the victim about what happened when it’s freshest on her mind. Also, we want to reach a complainant before the defendant does. Don’t give the defendant a chance to persuade the complainant not to cooperate. Assume the defendant will try to, but ideally that will happen after prosecutors have already talked to her.
Next, the way we contact the complainant is important. It should be a phone call, not a text or email. A lot can be lost in a text or email. By speaking to the complainant, we get a better idea of what happened and how it affected her. Her tone and the emotion in her voice are lost in a text or email, but these are helpful to decipher her credibility and state of mind. Also, by speaking to the complainant on the phone, you’re more likely to know if the person you’re talking to is actually the complainant.
Thank goodness I took such detailed notes during that RIP call in 2016. If I hadn’t, my testimony would have been a lot weaker. I remembered the call and a lot of what we talked about, but eight years later I didn’t remember that Maya told me Hickerson threatened to shoot up her house if she called the police. But because I wrote it down, I knew it was true and accurate.
Also, I am so glad I didn’t wait to get the no-contact order signed. Because of that order, prosecutors could show how fearful Maya was without getting into hearsay (which is good because I wasn’t allowed to testify about her telling me she was scared). Also, because of the no-contact order, we could arrest the defendant very soon after he committed the murder, which led to finding valuable evidence in his cell phone and connected him to the truck on the apartment’s surveillance video.
Lastly, my biggest takeaway was that everything we do matters. It doesn’t always feel that way, especially in misdemeanor cases, but something routine we do today could have a big impact down the road—even in cases where the facts aren’t that egregious. Here, the visible injuries from the misdemeanor assault were a scratch and a small cut. Based on that, I wouldn’t have predicted an outcome of capital murder, but the preliminary report and photos didn’t paint the whole picture. That’s why it’s important we do the work on every case. Talk to the complainant ASAP and any witnesses. Getting the whole picture could help turn a misdemeanor into a capital murder. And that’s why everything we do matters.