Letter to the editor

I am writing this letter to commend Panola County deputy, Jarrell Mills, on an outstanding job he did in tracking down the perpetrator of property stolen from my residence.

On May 6 an item was stolen from my home in Oxford. I filed a police report with the sheriff’s office and provided a copy of an appraisal and picture of the item. I felt like I knew who the thief was and that if he was going to pawn it, he would go outside of Lafayette County, since he is a resident of Panola County. The Lafayette County deputy told me that most likely I would never see the item again.

I knew of Deputy Mills’ success in tracking down the suspect of a recent burglary so on May 16 I called to ask for his help. I left Deputy Mills a message and he called me back the next morning. I relayed the information to him about what had happened and who I thought the thief was. He told me that he would do all that he could to help me. Approximately 2-3 hours later Deputy Mills called to report that he had found where the item had been sold in a cash-for-gold operation. In conjunction with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office an arrest was made the same day.

Deputy Mills is to be commended for his tenacity in tracking down leads and arresting criminals. The citizens of this state need more officers like him. His cooperation with other local law enforcement is also a credit to his service. I will probably never recover the stolen item, but thanks to Deputy Mills, I know that the person that stole from our home will have to suffer the consequences of his actions, hopefully from the inside of a prison.

Thanks again to Deputy Mills and the Panola County Sheriff’s Department

Sincerely,

Lisa M. Gathright and Eugene L. Gathright