Sheriff Report: Holidays bring tragedies to Panola County residents

By Ashley Crutcher
The holidays brought tragedies to Panola County as families suffered numerous deaths including a murder-suicide and an accidental overdose.
On December 23 Deputies Britton Crawford and Hunter Lawrence responded to Westdale for a domestic dispute.
According to the report, the victim advised dispatch that her husband was following her on her mail route and that he had blocked her in a driveway.
Moments later the called dropped and another call came from a Westdale Lane resident who reported a male subject shot her postal lady twice with a rifle and then shot himself.
According to the report, the female victim appeared to have suffered a gun shot wound to the lower abdominal region.
• Deputy Bill Furniss responded to Tramel Road on December 27 in reference to an unresponsive male.
Upon arrival the two residents advised their son came home from a trip and went to the bathroom.
According to the report, the residents stated after their son was in the bathroom for a while and they decided to check on him and found the door locked with no reply from their son.
The father stated he forced the door open to find the individual unresponsive.
According to the report, the residents pulled the victim into the hall and began to administer CPR.
Upon arrival, paramedics were unable to find any signs of life.
Deputy Furniss located a spoon with a white hard substance, a lighter, syringe and a small plastic baggy in the bathroom, according to the report.
The victim is believed to have overdosed on heroin, according to the report.
• On December 28, Deputy Steven McLarty responded to New Green Hill for a report of a gunshot.
Deputy McLarty spoke with the victim who stated a man walked up to him as he was sitting in the passenger seat of a Crown Victoria, shot him in the leg and ran off.
Deputy McLarty observed a marijuana blunt lying on the ground and the victim reported the man first asked if he wanted to smoke and then shot him.
According to the report, after talking with the victim he stated he had the gun in his waistband.
The victim stated he pulled the gun from his waist and it went off. The victim stated his “boy” got the gun and left.
A vehicle search was conducted and a clear plastic bag with a green leafy substance was located, according to the report.
MedStat arrived and transported the victim to Merit Health to treat the gunshot wound.
The Panola County Sheriff’s Department received 34 reports from county residents requesting service from Sheriff Deputies from December 23 to December 30.
December 23
• Deputy Steven Moore responded to Highway 51 North, Sardis in reference to a burglary. The property owner reported he was missing approximately $1,700 worth of property from his shop.
According to the report, the owner stated he knew who stole the property and continued to state he knew this individual took the property because she told him where she put the items.
Lieutenant  Emily Griffin spoke to the suspect regarding the property. The suspect stated the items were left under her residence.
According to the report, the suspect stated she worked for the owner and advised he still owed her money. Detective Jimmy Shannon was notified of the incident.
December 24
• Whitten Road, Courtland resident reported to Lieutenant Griffin her husband continuously calls and texts her after she has asked him to stop.
According to the report, Lieutenant Griffin spoke to the husband earlier in the evening regarding a custody issue when he was told the Sheriff’s Office couldn’t do anything without an order from a judge.
December 25
• Deputy Steven Moore responded to Mike’s One Stop where an unknown female, driving a black SUV with a Landers tag, went into the store and purchased $5 in gas.
According to the report, it was later discovered after the individual left the store that $37.49 in fuel had been pumped.
Pictures were taken from the store’s surveillance cameras and the vehicle was determined to be a Hyundai Sante Fe Sport.
• Deputy Hunter Lawrence spoke to a Still Road, Sardis resident who stated someone damaged his fence post and gate the night before.
December 26
• Deputy Jeremy Hailey was conducting a driver’s license check point on Highway 35 South near Shiloh Road when he noticed a vehicle stopped on Shiloh Road.
According to the report, Deputy Hailey walked to the vehicle and noticed a small baggie in the driver’s hand.
Deputy Hailey asked to see what was in the driver’s hand and after multiple attempts to hide the baggie the driver was asked to step out of the vehicle and was detained.
According to the report, a baggie containing marijuana and a baggie containing a crack cocaine rock was located in the vehicle during the search.
The driver was transported to the Panola County Jail.
• Pitman Road resident reported to Lieutenant Chuck Tucker he went out to his horse trailer and noticed his saddle and two bridles were missing.
According to the resident, his wife was in the horse trailer a week ago and the items were still there.
• Cotton Plant Road resident reported to Deputy John Still his Silver Sedan was parked at his residence when a battery was stolen from the vehicle.
December 27
• Lieutenant Tucker responded to Crossroads Grocery for a report of an assault.
According to the report, two individuals stated they went to Murphy Ridge Road to pick up their sister’s kids when their father tried to pull one of the individuals from the vehicle.
One individual reported the suspect was hitting the other individual and in order to get him to stop she threw a gas can on the suspect.
Deputy Darryl House spoke to the suspect who stated they all got into it over the kids and continued to state he wanted to file charges on one of the individuals for throwing gas on him.
• Highway 3, Sarah resident reported someone stole 12 Copper Grounding Rods from his work truck.
• Deputy Tucker spoke to a Henry Heafner Road resident who reported her neighbor has been causing problems with other neighbors about the dogs barking.
According to the report, the resident stated she saw the neighbor standing at her front door, yelling and cussing about her dogs barking.
The resident stated she asked the neighbor to leave her alone and stay off of her property.
December 28
• Crouch Road, Pope resident reported to Deputy Britton Crawford he let the suspect stay a few nights at his home but the suspect became angry and violent.
According to the report, law enforcement officials arrived and stood by as she gathered her things to leave, but the suspect returned later trying to beat on the door and then left again.
Deputy Crawford made contact with the female and advised her not to return to the property and cause any more problems.
• Deputy Hailey responded to an assault on Holmes Road where an individual reported the suspect hit her, tore her shirt, knocked her down and caused bodily harm to her. Deputy Hailey took pictures of the injuries.
• Cotton Plant Road resident reported to Deputy Hailey an individual keeps coming to her mother’s residence and causing problems.
According to the report, the resident stated her mother isn’t in good health and wants a deputy to tell the suspect not to return to the residence or he will be charged with tresspassing.
• Ridgecrest Drive, Pope resident reported to Deputy Crawford someone was under his carport with a flash light.
According to the report, Deputy Crawford observed two females and a male sitting in a green Saturn.
Deputy Crawford asked each passenger to step out of the vehicle one at a time and detained each before conducting a consented vehicle search.
According to the report, Deputy Crawford located a set of digital scales and a marijuana grinder in the vehicle.
One of the female suspects was arrested and charged with trespassing and possession of paraphernalia.
December 29
• Deputy Moore was dispatched to Oak Dale Lane in reference to an unresponsive person.
Upon arrival, the resident reported to Deputy Moore her husband had been asleep for about 30 minutes and she tried to wake him up to feed him but she could not wake him up.
According to the report, MedStat and E.M.S. arrived and CPR was administered but they were unable to revive the individual. The resident stated her husband hadn’t eaten in 13 days.
Panola County Coroner Gracie Grant Gulledge arrived on the scene and pronounced the individual deceased at approximately 9:42 P.M.
• Deputy Hailey responded to a disturbance on Old Panola Road where the victim reported she was driving and the suspect hit her on the head and she pulled into her cousin’s yard on Old Panola Road and got out screaming for help.
According to the report, the suspect damaged the victim’s car on the inside by pulling the radio and air conditioning controls from the dash.
Upon arrival Deputy Hailey observed the suspect laying on the ground intoxicated, bleeding and very disorderly, according to the report.
The suspect was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and public drunk.
• Northwood Drive resident reported to Deputy Crawford she has a no contact order against her neighbor, which she has had in place for a year.
According to the report, the resident was inside a store when the suspect came into the store and stood in line behind her.
The resident stated even though the suspect made no comment to her she was scared of him. Investigator Terry Smith is continuing the investigation.
• Highway 315, Sardis resident reported to Deputy Crawford her grandfather has dementia and he and his new truck are missing.
According to the report, the subject has cleaned out his account at Regions Bank.
• Jones Extended resident reported to Deputy Steven McLarty she came home and heard a loud bang and then found her back door broken from the frame.
According to the report, the resident found items thrown about the home and approximately $1,150 worth of items had been taken.
• Ballentine Road, Sardis resident reported to Deputy George Renfroe he noticed the side door to his residence had been forced open with an unknown tool.
According to the report, the resident is missing $4,000 worth of property.
December 30
• Lieutenant Emily Griffin responded to Crouch Road in reference to some suspicious activity.
Upon arrival, Deputies Jeff Still and Griffin observed three young children in a Toyota Sedan.
According to the report, the deputies knocked on the door and a male answered the door.
After explaining to the individual the nature of the call he stated the residence belonged to his wife and he was there to get the children’s iPads.
According to the report, a strong odor of fresh marijuana was present in the living room of the residence and when questioned about it the individual produced a wooden box containing drug paraphernalia from the master bathroom that he claimed belonged to the home owner.
The deputies attempted to contact the owner to verify that the individual had permission to be at the residence.
• Deputy Steven Moore was flagged down by an individual on Highway 51 who asked Deputy Moore to check her residence to make sure that her ex-boyfriend was gone.
According to the report, the individual reported her ex-boyfriend stole her DVD player, washing powder bags and some personal intimacy paraphernalia.
The items are valued at a total of $230 and Deputy Moore advised the resident that this case would be a civil matter and she could go to the Justice Court to file her claim.
Motor Vehicle Incidents
• December 22, Vehicle ran into ditch on Barnacre Road.
• December 23, hit and run occured on Green Hill Circle.
• December 27, deer in the road caused an accident on Joiner Road.
• December 28, Vehicle ran off of Pumping Station Road. An injury was reported.
• December 28, Vehicle turned onto Curtis Road stricking another vehicle.
Juvenile Incident Report
December 23
• 13-year-old charged with simple assault in Sardis.
• 17-year-old ran away from home in Como.
December 28
• 15-year-old went missing from Sardis.
• 17-year-old caused a disturbance in Pope.