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Home-invasion suspect says he has an alibi Derrick Earl Shields Tuesday Oct 17, 2017 at 6:04 PM Oct 17, 2017 at 6:51 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat One of the eight people accused of robbing and torturing a Wimer marijuana grower in 2016 says he has an alibi for the night the crime occurred. Derrick Earl Shields, 28, lodged in the Jackson County Jail since July on numerous assault, burglary and aggravated theft charges tied to a robbery at BlueSky Gardens near Wimer last winter, claims he was with a woman in Humboldt County, California, according to documents filed in Jackson County Circuit Court. Shields, who has a Columbus, Georgia, address listed in court records, is accused of being among the suspects who wore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles masks when they stormed James Bowman's home Dec. 16, terrorizing the victim, tying him up and beating him. Shields, however, claims he was with Susan Muhia of Eureka, California, when the robbery occurred.  Muhia will testify that Shields was with her in the Eureka area, according to a document filed Oct. 8 by Shields' court-appointed defense lawyer. Shields and his mother have submitted letters filed in court making similar claims. "I have been incarcerated 90 days and have a reliable alibi statement that was submitted before trial that proves I couldn't have committed those crimes," Shields wrote in a letter to the judge filed Oct. 13. "There is also no evidence that proves I committed these crimes." Shields had been set to stand trial Oct. 10. Investigating the credibility of the alibi was among reasons the trial was continued, according to Deputy District Attorney Marco Boccato. He said the District Attorney's Office takes the claims seriously, but they need to be thoroughly investigated. Boccato said Shields' defense lawyer met the minimum five-day notification requirements about the alibi, but a weekend left prosecutors and investigators only about a day before trial. "We only had like 24 hours to look into his alibi," Boccato said. "We never want to convict an innocent person." Investigating an alibi typically requires detectives to interview the witness in person and gather work and business records. Boccato said the District Attorney's Office is "not about" building a case against the wrong suspect. "We want to know what happened," Boccato said. Another reason for the trial delay was to combine Shields' trial with that of Edward A. Molet, also of Columbus, Georgia, and the only other suspect lodged in Jackson County Jail. Boccato said he prefers to have co-defendants tried together whenever possible to ease court resources. "Nothing's going to change dramatically between the two defendants," Boccato said, adding that "it's a benefit to everyone." Another suspect, Frank William Foremski, 35, of Gold Hill, who was originally from Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in April to first-degree burglary and first-degree aggravated theft. A single robbery charge is still pending. Boccato said two suspects are in custody elsewhere in the country and three suspects are on the loose. "Everyone's kind of in different places, so it's kind of a mess that way," Boccato said. "It's really just been a process to get everyone identified." — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.