BPD courtesy call ends in man’s arrest

By John Howell
The Batesville Police Dept. has been warning people with old fines due in city court to pay up or face additional fines when they are arrested for contempt of court.
Apparently the message was missed by Larry Lee Poole who called the police department to 244 Van Voris Street Sunday afternoon to unlock his vehicle. When BPD patrolman J. P. Wallace  responded and went through the department’s usual protocol of checking driver and vehicle identification he learned that Poole had an outstanding warrant. Wallace served the warrant and arrested Poole for contempt of court.
The warrant was one of 14 served during what BPD Deputy Chief Jimmy McCloud described as a “busy weekend.”
McCloud said he urges people with fines overdue to Batesville Municipal Court to pay them before being arrested and accruing additional fines for contempt.
“We ask people to take care of their business,” McCloud said.
BPD Sergeant Will Parrish was called to the Kangaroo convenience store at Highway 6 and 51 about 12:40 p.m. Sunday after receiving a report that drivers of two vehicles had become embroiled in a fight. Parrish spotted nearby one of the two vehicles that had been described and talked with the driver.
Parrish’s report states that the driver admitted having been involved in a dispute with the other driver for about three weeks. “She said that (name redacted) was mouthing off and she sprayed her with Mace,” Parrish’s report states.
Lt. Richard Lott made contact with the driver of the other vehicle (the Mace victim). “She was advised that she could file charges if she wished to do so.” She declined.
“After speaking with and warning Ms. (name redacted), I released her with no charges,” Parrish continues.
“Next time we will charge them,” McCloud states on the report.
Officers responded to reports of disturbances in Batesville restaurants on Saturday, but in both incidents, the perpetrators had left before police arrived.
Patrolman Justin Davis talked to several people in the parking lot at Huddle House, 147 Lakewood Drive, about 2:17 a.m. Saturday morning.
“They advised two (redacted) males were arguing in the parking lot but left before my arrival. All OK,” Davis’ report states.
Davis also responded about 11 p.m. Saturday night to Waffle House, 649 Highway 6, where three white males were alleged to have been creating a disturbance. They, too, had left the scene, according to the officer’s report.
The driver of a vehicle parked in the parking lot near the Merit Health Batesville emergency room apparently thwarted a thief’s Saturday morning attempt to steal his license plate. The would-be victim “stated that when he walked out of the Merit Health ER he saw a white male trying to take his car tag from his vehicle. Mr. (redacted) stated that when he yelled at him he ran off and got into a blue Impala and drove off,” according to patrolman Justin Johnson’s occurrence report.
A resident of Panola Apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive told patrolman Matt McCool that someone had stolen items that had been delivered to her mailbox.
The victim told patrolman Matt McCool, who responded to the complaint about 4 p.m. Saturday, that she was unsure when the items were taken. The items included three shirts, a pair of child’s boots and a wristwatch, according to the victim. A neighbor found the watch where it had been dropped in the yard, McCool’s report states.