By Billy Davis

A trial date for Sardis bail bondsman Johnny Green has been set for March 6 of next year, court documents filed last week show.

Green is accused of murdering bail client Ricky Taylor Jr. in the early-morning hours of July 23.

A Panola County grand jury indicted Green, 59, in October for the murder of Taylor, 33.

The defendant is represented by Ashland attorney Tony Farese.

Farese filed a plea of not guilty on behalf of his client November 16, court filings show, after first inquiring about a plea offer from the district attorney’s office November 9.

Green has been out on bond since a September bond hearing in which Circuit Judge Andrew C. Baker reduced the defendant’s bond from $1 million to $100,000.

Farese had requested the hearing almost immediately after Justice Court Judge James Appleton set Green’s bond at $1 million at an August 2 preliminary hearing.

Baker set the new bond with restrictions that Green have no contact with the Taylor family and not perform his duties as a licensed bail bondsman.

Baker ruled on the lower bond over the objection of Assistant District Attorney Robert Kelly and testimony from Taylor’s family, including his mother, father and an aunt.

In an interview earlier this summer, Barbara Taylor said Green came to their home and left with her son shortly before he was found dead on Old Panola Road.

"Ricky said, ‘I love you mama,’ when he walked out the door, and about 30 minutes later he was dead on Old Panola Road," the mother said.

At the August preliminary hearing, Farese used the opportunity to hammer away at the prosecution’s case, building both a self-defense case and a conspiracy case over numerous objections from Kelly.

Then-Chief Deputy Craig Sheley acknowledged in court that Taylor had been a confidential drug informant and Green had fingered a suspected drug dealer, Ricky Nelson, in Taylor’s murder during a jailhouse interview.
 

For most, Christmas is a time of giving. For some, unfortunately, it is also a time of taking.

According to Lt. Col. Tony Jones of the Batesville Police Department, Christmas shopping doesn’t always happen in stores and shopping malls.

"Every year, it is common to see people who had their cars broken into while they were shopping," he said. "The bad part about it is they could have prevented it."

Jones said purses are big targets for people who might be doing their illegal shopping during the holidays.

"Women need to keep a close eye on their purses," he said. "The smartest thing to do is make sure the purse is on your body."

Jones said in the case a person decides to leave their purse in the car, it should never be left in the front seat.

"If you are going to leave the purse in the car, it needs to be out of sight," he said. "The best place to put it would be the trunk."

As for packages, Jones suggests putting them in the trunk as well.

"If people come along and see all the packages in the car, it won’t even matter what it is," he said. "They can just take it and throw it away if they don’t like it."

In addition to using extra care during shopping trips, Jones said people should also be aware of several scams they could fall victim to.

The three main scams Jones warned about were:
  – Door-to-door salesmen
  – Home repair scams
  – Pigeon drop scams

"The biggest of these is the pigeon drop scam where people will think they are holding onto a lot of money and find out they are holding a wad of paper," he said.

Jones did say some people are beginning to wise up to scam artists.

"You are starting to see people who think they are being taken advantage of call the police," he said. "People should remember, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is."

If anyone believes they are being scammed, they are encouraged to contact the Batesville Police Department at 563-5653.
 

Embers from a brush fire were carried uphill by blustery winds Tuesday morning, leveling a shed before spreading to a barn and pasture land.

In the Sherwood Forest subdivision southwest of Batesville, the blackened brush fire was still smoldering as nearby firefighters filled up their trucks at a Nottingham Drive fire hydrant.

Up the hill, Batesville firefighters doused the remains of the old barn, pulling back pieces of twisted tin to drown the remaining hot spots.

Over the hill, brush trucks from Bynum and Mt. Olivet fire departments beat back a pasture fire that was gobbling up the dry grass.

As the brush trucks worked their way around a black semi-circle, Batesville firefighters used "flappers" to knock back the spreading grass fire.

The call for help came from Larry Beard, a Tri-Star Mechanical employee who had cleared the house site and set the brush on fire earlier that morning.

"I was working on the trackhoe and looked up and saw the shed on fire," said Beard.

"The weather report said the wind was going to be calm today," Beard continued. "I didn’t think it would do what it did."

The morning winds were strong, however, gusting enough to keep firefighters attacking the grassfire from attacking the flames head-on. The firefighters instead attacked the fire at its left flank, ensuring they could escape if the wind shifted direction.

Landowner Kenneth Brasell said the barn was a total loss due to the fire. The structure dated back to the ’20s or ’30s, he said.

"I’ve got photos of my grandfather standing in front of it," Brasell said.

Brasell’s wife, Teresa, said she was angry that Beard had set the fire despite high winds and dry weather.

"The weather report I saw said wind gusts of 15 to 20 miles an hour," she said. "It was ridiculous, just ridiculous."

Panola County was not under a burn ban at the time of Tuesday’s brush fire, said Daniel Cole, assistant fire coordinator for the the county civil defense office.