By John Howell
Batesville police and Panola County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested two people early Friday morning after serving a search warrant on their apartment on Lester Street in Batesville.

Arrested were Dedrick Devin Ivery, 39, and Monique Renee McClinton, 25, at 200D Skyview Apartments. They were charged with possession with intent to sell a quantity of high grade marijuana, possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, possession of a controlled substance within 1,500 feet of a church and possession of a firearm, child endangerment, Police Chief Tony Jones said.

The child endangerment charged was based on the proximity of a loaded pistol to the sleeping child, Jones said.

“It was laying right there on an open dresser,” the police chief said. “When they (officers) went in, he (Ivery) reached for it, but they were all over him.”

Ivery and McClinton were placed in the Panola County jail and are being held without bond.
Police confiscated the marijuana, paraphernalia including a “bong,” over $1,000 cash, a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and 9 mm rounds and a video camera mounted into a hardback book and placed in the apartment window, apparently to monitor the approach of intruders.

 Another adult present in the apartment “who was just visiting,” was not arrested. The three-year-old child was released to a family member, Jones said.

The police chief said that officers were shocked at the condition in which they found the apartment.

“It was absolutely filthy,” one officer said, describing trash strewn about the apartment and “cockroaches in all the cabinets.” All food was stored in the refrigerator along with the marijuana to keep it away from the roaches, the officer said.

A ceremony last November that included Gov. Phil Bryant celebrated the completion of an $11 million renovation by Wishcamper properties that virtually rebuilt the apartments from the studs out.