By Rita Howell
Batesville retailers continue to crack down on losses by theft as five cases of shoplifting were prosecuted by two local stores in Batesville Municipal Court Wednesday.

In the end four of the defendants avoided trials by pleading guilty.

Dauron M. Jenkins of 214 Tubbs #32, Batesville admitted stealing DVDs from Walmart and was fined $1,131.

Courtney P. Porter of 107 #6-D Martin Luther King Dr., Batesville pleaded guilty to taking a loudspeaker from Walmart without paying for it. He was fined $1,131.

Darneshia Mitchell, 2701 Hammond Hill, Senatobia, admitted shoplifting from Walmart and Burkes Outlet on December 27. She was fined a total of $2,262 on two counts.

Tywanna Webb of 416 Cox, Senatobia, apparently accompanying Mitchell on a trip to Batesville, admitted that she, too, had taken merchandise from Walmart and Burkes without paying for the items. She was also fined $2,262 on two counts of shoplifting.

A third companion with Mitchell and Webb, Latreka M. Wright of 411 Short St., Senatobia, told Judge Jay Westfaul she was not guilty of shoplifting.

She was charged only by Burkes, and company representative Tora Harris presented a surveillance video which showed Wright carrying around a pair of florescent green tennis shoes. The shoes were never paid for and ended up with stolen merchandise discovered later by police.

Webb told the judge Wright was innocent, that she (Webb) had taken the shoes from Wright and put them under her jacket.

The judge, however, ruled otherwise, that Wright had knowledge that her friends were stealing from the store, and that she had assisted them.

“You are as guilty as homemade sin,” Westfaul told Wright.

She was fined $1,131.

A sixth shoplifting case in which Roger Lynn Hentz, 101 Grenada Blvd., Greenwood, is charged, will be tried February 12.

Domestic violence
After a trial for James Mayer, 213 Court St., Batesville, charged with domestic violence/simple assault and possession of paraphernalia, Judge Westfaul ruled that Mayer was guilty on both counts.

Police officers Alex Aikens and Ruby Myers testified that they had answered a domestic violence call January 4 at the Court Street residence and found evidence Mayer and his companion, Haley Potts, had been in an altercation, and that drug paraphernalia was in the home. Both were charged, and Potts subsequently pleaded guilty to both charges in city court on January 8.

Mayer admitted possessing drug paraphernalia, but denied the domestic violence charge, stating that he had not retaliated when Potts had assaulted him.

After viewing police photographs of Potts’ injuries, the judge ruled that Mayer was guilty. His total fines are $770.

Mayer told the judge he and Potts planned to enroll in couples counseling.

Contempt of Court
Timothy Key, 2523A Nash Road, Batesville, was ordered by Judge Westfaul to pay old fines of $1,052 within 30 days. The fines have been due since 2007. Key had come to court on a current charge, no driver’s license, for which he pleaded guilty and was fined $306. During the court session it was discovered that a warrant had been issued for his arrest in 2007 after he failed to pay his fine. Key told the judge he didn’t remember the fine, and asked for consideration that he not be sent to jail as he had just started a new job.

Westfaul ordered the old fine to be paid in full by February 28, or Key faces a six-month jail sentence. The judge allowed Key 60 days to pay the current fine.

Edward C. Morgan of 1723 Sanders Road, Sardis, paid a cash fine of $199 prior to court. The fine had been owed since 2001.

Felony drug charge
Sallie Richardson, 711 College St., Grenada, appeared in court on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance, and also careless driving and expired driver’s license. She asked for a reduction in her $10,000 bond, which the judge lowered to $1,500.
At press time she remained in the Panola County jail.