Sheriff’s Department receives multiple reports of violence from county

By Ashley Crutcher
Panola County Sheriff’s Department received multiple reports of violence including two reports involving a  shooting.
Deputy Emily Griffin responded to Lucious Taylor Road on October 29 at 9:33 p.m. where the victim reported the suspect shot at him in his vehicle.
According to the report, the victim and suspect were attending a wedding and the suspect caused a disturbance and became even more infuriated when the victim told him to calm down.
The victim stated after the wedding he saw the suspect near the bridge on Lucious Taylor Road. The victim stated the suspect pointed a gun at him and he hit the gas in an attempt to escape, according to the report.
“I observed what appeared to be two bullet holes in the back hatch door of the vehicle and one bullet hole in the driver’s side rear window,” said Deputy Emily Griffin.
Deputy Griffin was called to another shooting investigation on November 4 along with Deputy Tripp Williams where a Highway 310 East, Como resident reported he was accidentally shot by his father.
According to the report, the victim stated his father thought he was an intruder and that is why he shot him. “I observed an entry in the back of the victim’s shoulder with no exit wound,” said Deputy Griffin.
Deputies Jeff Still, Steve McLarty, Maurice Market and Emily Griffin went to the residence to secure the weapon, photograph the scene and take the father into custody for questioning.
Earlier reports from October 11 include a family disturbance on Curtis Road. Deputy Market responded to the disturbance and spoke with the mother who stated her daughter’s boyfriend was chasing her in the woods.
Deputy Jeff Still and Deputy Market searched the woods but were unable to locate anyone. Lieutenant Griffin arrived on the scene and located the daughter laying on the car port under a mattress. Investigator Jason Chrestman made the scene and is continuing the investigation.
October 20, Pope Water Valley Road resident reported to Deputy Market her daughter took her silver Honda without her permission.
The Panola County Sheriff’s Department received 40 other reports which required service from Panola County Deputies from October 26 to November 4.
October 26
• Deputy McLarty conducted a traffic stop on a red Dodge truck on I-55 South, Sardis for no tag. According to the report, the driver didn’t have a license and was asked to step out of the vehicle.
Deputy McLarty asked the driver if he had anything in the vehicle to which the driver replied “there may be some marijuana in the vehicle” and gave consent to search the vehicle, according to the report.
Deputy McLarty asked the passenger to step to the back of the vehicle and ran both subjects with dispatch.
“Under the front driver side seat I found a blue container with several plastic bag’s along with a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana inside,” stated Deputy McLarty.
According to the report, the passenger stated the marijuana belonged to her.  Deputy McLarty continued his search and found a brown box with several needles inside, according to the report.
Dispatch then advised the driver was wanted in Mobile, Ala. for felony domestic violence. According to the report, both subjects were arrested and transported to the Panola County Jail.
October 27
• Deputy Josh Griffin responded to Union Road for a report of wreckless driving. A subject at the residence reported the suspect came to his girlfriend’s house driving reckless in her driveway. According to the report, the suspect was upset about a lie the girlfriend told him.
The subject stated he was involved in a separate incident with the suspect on October 17 when the suspect and other individuals sent him threatening texts and continuously drove by the residence yelling profanities in an attempt to get him outside to fight, according to the report.
October 28
• Morris Lane resident reported to Deputy Britton Crawford he was staying at a friend’s house while his wife was out of town. The resident stated when he returned home all of his things were gone from the house.
Accordingt to the report, the resident stated his wife took a dog, four guns, a deer camera and a Ford Bronco. Deputy Crawford advised the resident to seek legal counsel.
• Callie Norwood Road, Sardis resident reported to Deputy George Renfroe she was missing a tag from her vehicle.
October 29
• Deputy Harold Lewis responded to Merit Health in reference to an assault. Upon arrival, the victim reported her boyfriend assaulted her. According to the report, the victim stated she and her boyfriend went riding and ended up at a pool hall.
The victim stated her boyfriend was drinking and took her key from her when she was ready to leave, and then pushed her down causing an injury to her ankle when she tried to get the key back, according to the report.
• Brasher Road resident reported to Deputy Market he was making coffee around 4:20 a.m. when he heard the alarm to his shop go off.
The resident stated he ran out to the shop and saw two suspects running in the woods towards Bethlehem Road.
• Deputy McLarty arrived at a one vehicle accident on Old Panola Road where a Chevy Impala was heavily damaged. Accoding to the report, Deputy McLarty conducted a vehicle inventory and under the front driver seat found a Llama 45 calliber handgun.
According to the report, the gun was stolen out of Arkansas and the driver was arrested and transported to Panola County Jail.
October 30
• Investigator Terry Smith responded to a house fire on Seven Road. The resident stated she heard the smoke detector going off and noticed a light switch was on fire in the kitchen and attempted to put the fire out herself before the wall fell and smoke began to fill the home.
The resident stated she then got her four children out of the home and called 911. According to the report, the fire started in the electrical outlet at the switch and had been burning inside the wall area until it fell and spread to the rest of the home.
• Deputy Renfroe observed a Black Chevy Impala run the stop sign at Fowler and Bell Road. According to the report, Deputy Renfroe attempted to made the traffic stop but the suspect failed to stop and continued down Bell Road at a high rate of speed.
Then, the vehicle pulled into a driveway, hitting a ditch, and threw a small object out of the passenger side window before coming to a complete stop, according to the report.
The driver was taken into custody at the time of the stop. Deputy Renfroe looked on the passenger side of the vehicle and found a plastic sack containing a crystal-like substance.
Inside the vehicle Deputy Renfroe located a small piece of paper in a cigarette pack containing a “strip” and two syringes with needles hanging out of a speaker, according to the report.
• Highway 310 East, Como resident reported to Deputy Crawford he noticed approximately $1,349 worth of property missing from the residence.
• Deputy Crawford was dispatched to Johnson Cove in reference to an overdose, but was advised the incident was an accident and MedStat was in route to North Oak Medical Center with the individual.
• Deputy McLarty spoke to a Sardis resident who reported she was at a party on Curtis Road when two females scratched her passenger front door.
According to the report, the resident did not want to file charges, but wanted a report of the incident.
• Trantham Road resident reported to Deputy Lewis three bags of garbage were found on his property. The incident is under further investigation.
• Deputy Williams was dispatched to Chapel Hill Road, Pope where a resident reported she was feeding her landlord’s cats and found one with an arrow in the right hip. The resident took the cat to the vet to remove the arrow, according to the report.
October 31
• Sardis resident reported to Deputy Darryl House an individual told her he was going to kill her.
• Como resident reported to Deputy John Still two suspects continuously come to her residence, harrass her and attempt to intimidate her.
According to the report, the resident stated the altercation stems from another incident and states the suspects won’t stop.
November 1
• Lieutenant Willie Harris responded to a family disturbance on 5th Street, Crowder where the resident’s home health care person stated the resident’s son asked about the Mega Bus to which his father replied telling his son he need’s a job to make money to get on the Mega Bus.
According to the report, the son started yelling and pointing at his father telling him that he has not done anything for him and began throwing things around the home.
The son was asked to leave the residence. According to the report, Lieutenant Harris located the son at a store and took him back to the residence to get his belongings and asked him not to return without an officer.
• Rudd Road, Sardis resident reported to Deputy John Still he and his fiance got into an altercation. According to the report, the resident began receiving threatening text messages threatening to do bodily harm from his fiance’s neice.
November 2
• The Department of Human Services received a report that a three-year-old female was molested by her mother’s ex-boyfriend.
• Bethlehem Road resident reported to Lieutenant Harris her cousin came to visit her son. According to the report, later the son noticed his cell phone was missing.
The resident stated she attempted to get the phone back from the cousin who denied having the phone. The resident saw a facebook post where the cousin had the phone for sale. Deputy Market recovered the stolen phone.
• Highway 310 East, Como resident reported her baby’s father was tresspassing. According to the report, the resident stated the suspect wanted $50 which she told him she didn’t have and continued to state that’s when the suspect hit her.
Deputy spoke with the suspect who denied hitting the resident.
According to the report, neither subjects had any physical signs of abuse.
• Leslie Road, Pope resident reported to Deputy Mike Davis she purchased a b16 tag and was advised the tag would be mailed to her.
According to the report, the tag was purchased on September 19 and still has not arrived, therefore it is stolen or lost.
• Northwood Drive resident reported to Deputy Renfroe she was receiving threats. According to the report, the resident played a voice recording of the suspect threatening the life of the resident and her family.
November 3
• Investigator Bryan Arnold spoke to a Sarah resident who reported her father sexually molested her from the time she was five until she left the house at the age of 14.
According to the report, the victim reported her mother knew of the sexual abuse and pressured her not to testify about it when it was reported before.
According to the report, the victim is afraid to stay at the home and is also concerned for her younger sisters that live at the residence.
• Deputies Emily Griffin and Tripp Williams were dispatched to a disturbance on Eureka Road where a resident was located in a neighbors yard stating she and her husband got into an altercation where her husband pushed her after she hit him with a candle holder.
According to the report, the husband stated his wife attacked him with the candle holder while he was in the shower.
“I determined the wife to be the principle aggressor because she used a weapon against her husband and also because her husband had several cuts on his arms and hands,” stated Deputy Griffin. The wife was placed under arrest and transported to Panola County Jail.
• Redbud Street, Pope resident reported to Deputy Renfroe she was receiving threats from an individual threatening to do bodily harm to him.
According to the report, the suspect’s dog came into the resident’s yard and attacked his dog and as he was talking to the suspect, the suspect advised the resident he was going to harm him.
• Deputy Williams spoke to a Highway 51 South, Courtland resident who reported he noticed the front door to her house was kicked in. According to the report, nothing was missing from the residence.
The resident advised her daughter had been calling constantly for a key to the house to use the restroom and believes she may have forced entry but did not intend to cause damages.
• Hadorn Road resident reported to Deputy Renfroe he was recieving threats from an individual.
According to the report, the resident and suspect both made verbal threats in front of Deputies. Both individuals were brought to the Panola County Jail.
• Danny Lane, Sardis resident reported to Investigator Arnold he was receiving phone calls from an individual claiming to be his brother-in-law, stating he was in a wreck and was arrested for DUI and needed him to send $2,970 to bond him out of jail.
The resident contacted the law enforcement department the individual stated he was being held at and was informed no one by his brother-in-law’s name was being held there.
According to the report, it is believed the suspect learned of the resident through an obituary.
• Blackjack Road residents reported an individual hit their dog and sped up. Family members followed the vehicle to get the license plate number, according to the report.
One resident stated if the driver would have stopped and said that he was sorry for killing their dog they would have been ok, according to the report.
November 4
• Upton Road, Pope resident reported to Investigator Danny Beavers his three-year-old son was missing.
According to the report, the resident stated he left the child on the couch watching TV as he went into the kitchen to smoke a cigarette and when he came back the child was gone. According to the report, the child was located in a bedroom closet.
Motor Vehicle Accident Report
October 29
• Car hit a deer on Old Panola Road.
• Car overturned on Pope Water Valley Road.
• Hit and run occured on Greg Taylor Road.
• Vehicle backed into another car on Curtis Road.
October 31
• Two cars collided on Blackjack Road.
• Vehicle backed into a mailbox on Pegues Circle.
November 3
• Vehicle ran into the back of another vehicle that was pulling a trailer on Alonzo Gipson Road.
Juvenile Incident Report
Two 13-year-olds landed in hot water after one assaulted an individual on Bethlehem Road and another was charged with alleged child abuse on South Pocohantas Street.