By Billy Davis

A circuit court judge ruled Thursday in Hernando that there was no probable cause to issue an arrest warrant for Batesville police officer Jamie Tedford.

The decision, by Judge Robert Chamberlin, means Tedford will not face trial in Panola County Justice Court.

The police officer stood accused of threatening a 17-year-old teenager over suggestive text messages sent to Tedford’s stepdaughter, who is 14.

The teenager’s mother, Mary Carothers, had filed charges against Tedford in justice court, triggering a circuit court hearing over whether there was enough evidence for the case to proceed.

The affidavit, made on January 22, alleged that Tedford had telephoned a sheriff’s investigator, Albert Perkins, and threatened to kill her son, Dominique Carothers, “if he didn’t leave his daughter alone.”

Mrs. Carothers learned of the threat when she was told Sheriff Otis Griffin was searching for her son about his involvement with the girl, court testimony revealed.

Chamberlin, in his ruling, stated that he found no evidence in court testimony that Tedford, in his capacity as a police officer, had made a direct threat to Carothers.

“I do not note in my notes anywhere where a threat of harm was conveyed to Dominique Carothers,” the judge said from the bench.

Chamberlin went a step further in his ruling, arguing that no evidence of a threat was proven in court by either the state code used to prosecute Tedford nor in a similar subsection of the code, which simply alleged a direct threat and which the prosecution had mistakenly believed was cited in the affidavit.  

Chamberlin announced his ruling at 11:25 a.m., concluding a two-hour hearing at the county courthouse in DeSoto County.

Tate County prosecutor Ginger Slocum presented the case against Tedford after C. Gaines Baker, the Panola County prosecutor, recused himself from the case.

Tedford was represented by defense attorney Tony Farese.

Investigator Perkins, testifying for the prosecution, explained that Tedford had called him, clearly angry, and asked where Carothers lived because he wanted to shoot him.

 The police officer went on to explain that he had asked Carothers to leave his daughter alone.

“I told him to let me handle it,” Perkins testified.

The investigator went on to explain that Sheriff Otis Griffin was with him when Tedford called. Griffin, told of the threat, suggested that Perkins call Batesville Police Chief Tony Jones. The sheriff, meanwhile, tracked down Carothers and told him to leave the girl alone, according to Perkins.

When Perkins talked to Tedford a few minutes later, “he had calmed down” and apologized for his behavior, the sheriff’s investigator said.

“I was under the assumption that everything was OK,” Perkins said, until he received a phone call from Paul Shivers, a Batesville police detective. Shivers informed him that Mrs. Carothers had filed a complaint against the officer.

Under cross-examination by Farese, Perkins acknowledged that Tedford had told him Carothers, a high school senior, was 17 years old while his daughter, a freshman, was only 14. Tedford wanted his daughter to date a “good student” and an “outstanding kid,” indicating that Carothers was not suitable for her.

“I told him I had a daughter, too, and had talked to her about that,” Perkins testified.

Farese also used the cross-examination to note that Perkins did not seek to arrest Tedford or intervene. Nor did he call Chief Jones to convey what had occurred.

“As far as you were concerned, that was the end of the matter?” Farese asked.

“That’s correct,” Perkins answered.

Sheriff Griffin, in his testimony, said he called Dominique Carothers and instructed him to “leave the little girl alone.”

“He said, ‘She’s been talking to me, and we’ve been talking to each other,’ and I said that didn’t matter,” Griffin said.

The sheriff also testified that he had talked to Tedford less than 15 minutes after the officer had called Perkins.

“Jamie said he was upset and apologized for saying those things,” Griffin said.

Questioned by Slocum about the threat, Griffin said he “takes all threats seriously, especially in law enforcement.” But he added that Perkins had talked to Tedford and heard the threat over the phone.

The sheriff also testified that he initiated communication between Tedford and Mrs. Carothers. Both parents indicated that they wanted to talk about the incident, he said.

Mrs. Carothers also testified for the prosecution, telling the court that Tedford admitted to her, in their phone call, that he had wanted to harm her son.

“Were you frightened for your son?” Slocum asked.

“Yes, I was very frightened,” the mother replied.

Mrs. Carothers said she filed charges because she was “protecting my son.”

Under cross-examination, Mrs. Carothers admitted that the threat had been voiced to Perkins, who did not pursue charges, and therefore was not made to her or her son. She had to be instructed by Chamberlin, when she kept interrupting, to answer the defense attorney’s question.

Mrs. Carothers also acknowledged meeting with the NAACP about the matter but said her actions were not racially motivated.

She denied to Farese that she has vowed to prevent Tedford, a past sheriff’s candidate, from becoming Panola County sheriff.

“You’re denying that under oath?” Farese asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

Farese called only one witness, Detective Shivers, who testified that he investigated the threat after Mrs. Carothers filed her complaint. The detective said he interviewed Perkins and Griffin, determining from those interviews that no direct threat had been made against Carothers.  

Shivers also testified that he was not allowed to interview Dominique Carothers.

“I requested to talk to him but Mrs. Carothers would not bring him in,” Shivers said.

Shivers said he also interviewed Tedford, who told him that Carothers had sent suggestive text messages to his stepdaughter, and that Tedford had told Carothers in October to end the contact.

“We never believed a crime had been committed and Jamie is very pleased with the support from the police department and the community,” Farese said after the ruling.