Man faces lesser murder charge

Published 9:57 pm Wednesday, November 6, 2013

An Atmore man originally indicted on a capital murder charge was indicted by an Escambia County Grand Jury last week on a lesser murder charge.

Derek Coleman also faces first-degree robbery and fraudulent use of a credit/debit card charges, according to court records, in a connection with a 2011 incident.

Coleman has been in custody since his August 2011 arrest after authorities found a man badly beaten and bleeding on Airport Road in Atmore.

Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies and Atmore Police responded to the scene after receiving a call that a black man was laying in the road and looked injured. When officers arrived, they found him bleeding from severe head trauma and multiple abrasions, according to previous reports.

Officers were able to get a brief statement from the victim before he was airlifted to a trauma center in Pensacola, according to previous reports. The victim later passed away from his injuries.