Panola County Sheriff Shane Phelps walks James Scott into the David M. Bryan Justice Center Thursday morning, Nov. 12, 2020.

 

Como resident James Tate “Jim” Scott, III, was taken into custody about 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning by a task force of the Panola County Sheriff’s Office. He was taken directly to the county jail and booked on a charge of possessing material depicting a child engaging in sexual conduct.

Scott, 63, did not resist arrest, and was likely expecting officers. Officials said he was aware of the investigation that began when a video was circulated on social media about a month ago showing Scott sitting in a golf cart on Main Street in Como and being questioned about sending text messages of a sexual nature to a person he believed to be a 14 year old girl.

The person receiving the texts, and later shooting the video of the confrontation, was not a 14 year old girl, but a representative of Waits List, a website founded by Zane Waits devoted to exposing people they believe are sexual predators.

In the video Waits says that he has turned over the information from his investigation to the Como Police Dept. Within a few days the Sheriff’s Office had started its own investigation. The result was a warrant signed Thursday by Circuit Judge Smith Murphey. Bond was set at $50,000 on the warrant.

The Waits List website describes the group as follows:

“We are a group of professionally trained individuals located out of Jacksonville, FL. Our goal is to hunt down your local Sex Traffickers, Child Predators, and Pedophiles from all around our great country. All  the information we gather is turned over to that subjects local authorities or the FBI. We are here to keep our children safe and all parents aware!”

Scott owned Cheepo Deepo, a discount furniture store located on Hwy. 6 in Oxford, but that business is now closed.