Suspect Escapes After Multi-County Chase

By Editor | July 16, 2025 |

Exhausted law enforcement officers from multiple counties catch a ride in an ambulance back to their vehicles after searching for Sam Seymore for hours last Thursday afternoon. The ambulance was staged in the vicinity of the search.

TALLAHATCHIE – A Tallahatchie County man remains on the lam after leading law enforcement on a multi-county pursuit on July 10 that ended in the woods near Ascalmore Creek Road in Tallahatchie County.

Emily Cockerham turned herself in to Tallahatchie County authorities.

Yalobusha County Sheriff Jerimaine Gooch reported 49-year-old Sam Seymore is facing a barrage of charges, including felony fleeing, grand larceny, attempted aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer with a vehicle and felon in possession of a firearm. He also has outstanding burglary and grand larceny charges in Tallahatchie County and he is currently on probation for an earlier conviction.

Deputies attempted to stop Seymore near the intersection of Hwy. 330 and County Road 55 in Yalobusha County around 8 a.m. after receiving “precise information” about his location. The attempted stop came almost a month after he was identified as a primary suspect in the theft of a camper and a boat reported missing from a hunting camp on County Road 70 near Tillatoba. The theft was captured on a surveillance camera and deputies recognized Seymore and his pickup.
Sheriff Gooch explained that the attempted traffic stop came at an opportune time because multiple deputies were staged in the rural area.

“We tried to box him in,” the sheriff stated. “We knew he would try to flee because we tried to stop him earlier in the year and had a similar experience.”

Seymore evaded deputies, immediately turning onto gravel roads to make pursuit more difficult. His girlfriend, Emily Cockerham, 37, also of Tallahatchie County was in the vehicle and later turned herself in to Tallahatchie County authorities. She was charged by the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department with resisting arrest, aiding escape, and possession of a stolen firearm.

The pursuit lasted more than an hour as Seymore sped through back roads, cotton fields, and highways, spanning Yalobusha, Grenada, and Tallahatchie counties. Deputies finally disabled the 2022 Dodge pickup he was driving on Ascalmore Creek Road. Seymore and Cockerham then fled on foot, leaving behind a trail of shotgun shells.

Inside the abandoned truck, deputies found multiple firearms, a bulletproof vest, and blue lights.

“We knew he was armed,” Chief Deputy Thomas West said. “He’s looking at some serious time and has made statements that he is not going back to prison. We had to proceed in the manhunt with extreme caution.”

West added that Seymore fled into an area he knows well.

“We were basically in his backyard,” he said. “He even buried his cell phone in the woods while he was fleeing from us.”
A massive search followed, with assistance from the Mississippi Highway Patrol, Tallahatchie County deputies, and Grenada County deputies who were already in the vicinity. Sheriff Gooch reported numerous law enforcement agencies joined the search including K-9 units from Batesville Police Department, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department, and MDOC at Parchman responded, DeSoto County’s helicopter and drone teams, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents and others. The search was called off around 9:45 p.m. Thursday night.

West said the search area was rugged, located near the bluff where the hills drop into the Mississippi Delta. “There was heavy kudzu and deep gullies — it was rough terrain,” he said.

Sheriff Gooch extended gratitude to all of the agencies who assisted.

“There were a lot of officers from multiple agencies and we appreciate every one of them,” Gooch said.

Sheriff Gooch also said law enforcement officials are hoping for a peaceful resolution.

“We have Seymore listed on NCIC. We don’t want him to hurt himself or someone else, and we sure can’t let him keep going around stealing people’s stuff,” Gooch said.

Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly told The Sun-Sentinel that Cockerham appeared scratched and dehydrated when she turned herself in Friday morning.

“I feel she just felt like it was in her best interest to go ahead and give up,” Fly said.

Cockerham was transported to the Yalobusha County Detention Center later on Friday. She posted bond Monday afternoon.
While the manhunt had many of the county’s deputies in neighboring Tallahatchie County, an inmate at the Yalobusha County Detention Center scaled the fence in the yard area and escaped into the corn field around 11 a.m. on July 10. Deputy A.J. Hernandez responded from Main Street and apprehended Savanna Allbritton with minutes. Water Valley Police Chief Jason Mangrum and officers assisted in the brief search for Allbritton.

“She was out on yard call and climbed over the fence and the razor wire. She was cut up,” Sheriff Gooch added.
Allbritton, who lives in the Water Valley Boat Landing area, was initially arrested on July 7 for possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia.

Other arrests reported by Sheriff Gooch include:

• Jeremy Mooney of Water Valley was arrested on July 14 for alleged home invasion.
“He was beating on the door of a house. When the homeowner came to the door, he pulled it open and tried to push his way inside,” Gooch said.

• James Bevill of Calhoun City was arrested during a traffic stop on County Road 147 on July 14. Bevill was wanted by Chickasaw County authorities for felon in possession of a firearm.

• Michael Jones was arrested on July 13 for DUI, first offense, no driver’s license, no insurance, and careless driving. The arrest was made in Oakland during a traffic stop.

• Perry Stokes of Coffeeville was arrested for DUI and careless driving during a traffic stop in Coffeeville on July 12.

• Amanda Seger of Oakland was arrested for possession of methamphetamine (more than two grams) during a traffic stop on Hwy. 51 in Oakland on July 12.

• Jaterrion Dorris was arrested during a traffic stop on County Road 211 on July 11. Dorris had an outstanding warrant from Grenada County.

• Victoria Stegall of Coffeeville was arrested on July 10 for possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia. Deputies responded to a disturbance on Main Street in Coffeeville where she was taken into custody.

• Richard Russum was arrested on July 8 and charged with commercial burglary. Originally from Hattiesburg, Russum is also a resident of the Water Valley Boat Landing community.

• “We received a report from the church security team at Sylva Rena about a man who was going through vehicles during Sunday service,” Sheriff Gooch said.

Russum was identified using surveillance footage from the church. Chief Deputy Thomas West spotted him on July 8 and made the arrest.

• Joshua Dyer was arrested on July 7 for possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia. He was walking down County Road 53 when deputies stopped him.

• Tavarious Jones was arrested on July 6 on an active warrant from Coffeeville.

• Alfred Carter was arrested in Oakland on July 5 on an arrest warrant issued out of Grenada County.

• Curtis Gibson was arrested near Enid on July 5 on a warrant from Panola County.

• Kenneth Reeves and Kimberly Dicky were arrested in Oakland on July 2, each charged with domestic violence.

• Jaquez Rich was arrested on July 1 and charged with possession of paraphernalia and indecent exposure. Rich was found naked inside a vehicle parked on the shoulder of I-55 at the Enid exit, surrounded by sex toys, when a deputy stopped to check on the car.

• Kimberly Dicky was also arrested on June 29 in Oakland on a warrant for malicious mischief.

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