Woman faces perjury, false report charges in Jackson homicide investigation
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JACKSON, Tenn. — A woman is facing charges of perjury and filing false reports in connection to a Jackson homicide investigation. Leslie Nicole Newsom is accused of filing two false reports during the course of the investigation of a Jan. 20 shooting on Woodberry Trail that left James Roberson dead, according to court papers. During questioning Jan. 23, police say Newsom told them she had not purchased a white 2005 Nissan Maxima, the type of vehicle the alleged shooter was said to have driven. Police obtained documents from a Jackson auto dealership showing that Newsom had purchased a vehicle of the same description Jan. 13. On the same day of questioning, police say Newsom told them she had talked to Jeremy Echols, a suspect in the case, only by phone the day of the homicide. Police say she later admitted this was false and that she had met with him in person at a Jackson hotel. Newsom faces two aggravated perjury charges in connection to an alleged conversation between Echols and his mother that Newsom supposedly told investigators she had heard after the homicide. Police say Newsom told them she heard Echols’ mother ask him, “Son, why didn’t you come talk to me?” She supposedly also told police she heard Echols tell his mother “I hate I had to stoop to that level,” according to an affidavit. During a preliminary hearing Feb. 26, Newsom was sworn in as a witness and told the assistant district attorney she did not make the statements about the conversation to investigators. Newsom is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond.
