Police Chief Reports Minor Criminal Activity In Water Valley During April

Police Chief Reports Minor Criminal Activity In Water Valley During April

By David Howell

Editor

WATER VALLEY – Police Chief Mike King reported minor criminal activity under investigation by his department during the last two weeks. Among cases is a report of a stolen vehicle that crashed on Wood Street after fleeing from deputies in a pursuit that originated in the county. The police report states the vehicle’s owner was contacted by city police approximately 50 minutes after the crash. The owner told authorities he was asleep when they called, but went outside and determined his green Jeep Cherokee had been stolen. 

King said the case remains under investigation and a cell phone recovered at the scene could help determine the identity of the driver of the vehicle. The incident occurred on April 10.

Other activity includes:

• A dog running loose on Suggs Street was picked up by a member of the Second Chance Animal Alliance (SCAA) on April 11 and transported to the city pound. The police report indicated a complaint about the dog, which was not restrained and barking at night. The dog did not have a collar. The report also said the city’s animal control officer was ill, prompting the call to SCAA for the pickup. 

• An alternator, battery, brand new jack and tire were reported stolen from a Dodge 4×4 pickup that had been parked for almost two months at the Shell Station on the bypass. The police report indicated the driver’s side window had been knocked out when the incident was reported on April 12. The owner told officers that he did not have liability insurance because he was fixing the truck up.

• A car taken by a family member of the owner without permission was reported stolen to Water Valley police on April 13. The owner told authorities she awoke around 10 p.m. and discovered her 2007 Nissan was missing from Blackmur Drive. She learned her cousin, Michael Watson, had taken the vehicle to Panola County and wrecked it. The report also indicated Watson had fraudulently used the owner’s debit card. Charges were filed by the department for auto theft. 

• A break-in of a vehicle that occurred between 9 and 11 a.m. on Main Street on March 30 was reported on April 13. The vehicle’s owner reported he was in town two weeks earlier parked near Varner Printing when his Chevrolet Avalanche was broken into and 17 Hydrocodone pills and a Garmin GPS were stolen. The owner told police that he did not notice the missing items until he got home and was not able to return to town to file the report for two weeks.

The owner also started his doors were locked and his alarm system was not triggered, but he found damage on a door handle.

• Two reports of identity theft related to tax returns were fielded by the department. In both cases, the victims were notified by the IRS about previous tax returns using the same social security number that appear fraudulent. Both cases were referred to the Mississippi Attorney General’s office. In another incident reported on April 7, an officer took a report of a victim claiming someone had been cashing his unemployment checks for almost a year. The victim also told authorities he initially thought the checks had stopped coming.

• Officers issued 19 citations from April 4 to April 18 – two for no driver’s license; three for driving with a suspended license; one for DUI, first offense; one for failure to yield right-of-way; one for failure to signal; five for speeding; one for running a stop sign; three for expired/no license tag; and two for no proof of liability insurance.