By Billy Davis

A 19-year-old and two 18-year-olds are sitting in a Panola County jail cell, where they face kidnapping and armed robbery charges after their alleged robbery fell apart last Friday.

The suspects are Justin Kendrell Mister, 19, of Batesville; Quendravious Taylor, 18, of Courtland; and Jonathan Cosby, 18, of Courtland.

Authorities allege the three suspects forced a fourth person at gunpoint to withdraw money from Renasant Bank in Batesville. The victim alerted the bank teller, who contacted police.

Police caught one of the suspects near the bank, and a sheriff’s deputy later arrested the other two in the county, said BPD Detective Paul Shivers.

All three are being held on a $1 million bond, said Shivers.

The name of the crime victim was withheld. The victim picked up the three suspects to give them a ride to a store and at some point they pulled a handgun and demanded money, Shivers alleged.

Outside the bank, the three robbers became suspicious and one of them donned a ski mask, apparently to enter the bank, said Shivers.

“A bank patron saw him put on the mask and told him you don’t want to do that,” said the detective. “That’s when they took off.”

The firearm and a mask were found on one of the suspects, said the detective.

Shivers credited sheriff’s deputy Darius Smith for finding and arresting two of the suspects in the county.
Panola Sheriff Dennis Darby said Smith knew the names of the suspects and tracked them down.

The suspects’ entries in the jail log show Mister was arrested first and booked at 6:25 Friday afternoon. Taylor and Cosby were booked approximately two and a half hours later.

Smith could not be reached Monday about the arrests.