Law Enforcement Report

By David Howell
Editor

WATER VALLEY – Deputies were scrambling Monday afternoon after receiving back-to-back calls in different areas of the county. The calls, all unrelated, involved a marital dispute, an attempted suicide and a pedestrian who had passed out on the side of Hwy. 32.

The first call, reported just after 4 p.m. Monday afternoon, was a domestic dispute on County Road 129, according to Humphreys.

“This has been an ongoing dispute, we have responded to the same residence for the same problem for years, Humphreys explained.

The husband was charged with domestic violence, a misdemeanor and transported to the county jail.

While Humphreys and deputies were working this domestic call,  the dispatcher received a second call, this time from a residence on County Road 468.

“The dispatcher reported a man had a gun and was threatening to end his life,” Humphreys explained.

Chief Deputy Jerry Ferguson responded around 4:30 p.m., travelling to a remote area of the county near Gum’s Crossing.

After arriving, Ferguson was asked to enter the residence where he found a man with a high-powered rifle stuck inside his mouth.

“This was one of the most tense situations our department has faced in recent months,” Humphreys explained.

Ferguson talked to the man for several minutes, and was able to disarm him after he eased the gun down.

“Just after I arrived on the scene, Jerry actually used a taser gun to disarm the person,” Humphreys explained. The taser gun, which emits an electronic charge, immobilized the man long enough for Ferguson to reach the rifle and gain control of the situation.

“We transported him to jail to give his family time to find him some help,” Humphreys explained.

Before authorities had completed work on County Road 468, a third call came in about a man laying in the grass beside Hwy. 32, west of Water Valley.

“He was on the shoulder of the road,” Humphreys reported.

“This person had been walking down the side of Hwy. 32 and actually fell out from the heat,”  Humphreys explained.

The sheriff credited Harry and Michael Womble, who stopped to investigate after seeing the man laying on the shoulder of the road.

“Several cars had passed, but no one had stopped to see what was going on,” Humphreys explained.

The heat victim was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford.

DUI Enforcement

Deputies made three D.U.I. arrests during the last week.

The first arrest was made Friday night after a driver attempted to avoid a driver’s license checkpoint near Enid.

The driver had a suspended driver’s license and attempted to evade authorities, according to Humphreys.

“We stopped him in Tallahatchie County after a brief pursuit,” the sheriff reported.

“This incident could have also been dangerous for our officers as the driver actually got out of his vehicle with a gun in his possession,” the sheriff reported.

The second DUI arrest was made Saturday night on County Road 436 at a driver’s license checkpoint.

“This driver also had a gun and actually threw it out the window before stopping at the checkpoint,” Humphreys said.  “We are still investigating this incident.”

The third D.U.I arrest was made Monday night as a driver was turning into Tillatoba Truck Stop.

In other law enforcement news:

• Humphreys said his department had just received a D.U.I. grant from the Department of Public Safety. The money, just under $52,000, is earmarked to pay the salary of one deputy, plus overtime for other deputies.

• Deputies arrested a man Friday for allegedly stealing a saddle from a barn near Coffeeville.

“He is charged with burglary of a non-residential building and petty larceny,” Humphreys reported. The saddle was recovered.

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WATER VALLEY – Lt. Rick McCuan reported the following law enforcement activity within the Water Valley City limits during the past week:

• Made two arrests for possession of a controlled substance;

• Made an arrest for possession of marijuana;

• Made an arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia;

• Made an arrest for DUI, first offense;

• Made an arrest for public drunk;

• Made an arrest for driving under suspension;

• Took three reports of trespassing;

• Took a report of burglary;

• Took a report of malicious mischief;

• Took a report of disturbing the peace; and

• Issued 27 traffic citations.