Deputy indicted for fraudulant report of car accident

By Rupert Howell
Panola County Constable and Deputy Sheriff Eric Dyran “Buck” Harris and Coral Anderla Thomas have been indicted by a Panola County Grand Jury for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud after he allegedly altered an offense report to reflect she had an accident after she had purchased insurance.
Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby confirmed that Harris had resigned from his deputy sheriff position and noted he was aware of an investigation and indictment sought by the Mississippi Attorney General’s office.
A spokesman at the Justice Court Office said Harris has not resigned from that position as of Thursday afternoon. The three count indictment states that Thomas “… did seek to obtain insurance coverage on her 2008 Chrysler Sebring after an accident involving hitting a deer that occurred on March 24, 2017,” and Harris, “… did alter an Offense Incident Report to reflect falsely that Thomas was the complainant involved in the accident and the accident occurred on March 29, 2017 after Thomas had obtained insurance coverage on the vehicle.”
The second count names Thomas and accuses her in a scheme where she applied for insurance and falsely represented she had no prior accidents in three years when she had experienced a similar claim for the same vehicle from hitting a deer in 2014.
The third count of the indictment names Harris and claims he changed a record belonging to a public office, changing the date making it appear the complaining party was Thomas and the alleged incident had occurred five days later than it actually had.
As First District Panola County Constable, Harris is officer of the court of Panola County’s Justice Court, an elective office.
Harris was offered the Sardis Police Chief position in the spring of this year following municipal elections and turned down the offer