Over the past several weeks, the Enterprise-Tocsin has covered various law enforcement-related stories. Local law enforcement officials provided updates on the status of each case and investigation.
On May 29, the E-T reported that three Doddsville teens drove to a residential area in Drew and took part in shooting into an occupied dwelling. Drew Police quickly apprehended one of the teens and another of the trio within days of the incident. “One has made bond and one is still in custody at the Sunflower County jail,” said Drew Police Chief Terry Tyler. “The other teen is still at large, and we have turned the information over to the U.S. Marshals to help us find the perpetrator.”
On June 12, two fishermen found the body of Johnny Lyons of Indianola in the Sunflower River. After having been released from police custody, a few days earlier Lyons had left the Sunflower County jail on foot. The State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the deceased was Lyons on June 16. “We are waiting on the autopsy,” says Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood. “The last two people who saw Mr. Lyons alive will also be questioned.”
Haywood also provided his take on the procedures involved in the June medical transport of inmate Danarius Roscoe. A video of a heated verbal exchange between him and Officer Sabrina Gorden went viral. The video showed the officer striking the inmate and preparing to pull her weapon in response to Roscoe’s refusal to calm down and dare for her to use her weapon.
“Roscoe will be charged with simple assault on a police officer,” Haywood said. “We are going to try and assist him in getting some help with his mental health. Something is wrong with him. When he went back to the jail, he cold-cocked a guy.”
“I’m happy to report that we have resolved the issue of holding someone too long before an initial hearing,” Haywood added.
Indianola Police Chief Ronald Sampson told the E-T that the matter had been turned over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. “The video looks worse than what actually happened,” Sampson said. “We turned it over to MBI so that it can’t be said that we revised it in any way. We hope to have this wrapped up in a few days.”
In a couple of other local incidences, the E-T made unsuccessful attempts to reach appropriate law enforcement officials. On May 14, a car chase that began on Highway 82 spilled over into downtown Moorhead where shots were fired. A Moorhead motorist’s SUV sustained a lodged bullet on its back passenger side door near the motorist’s young granddaughter who was riding in a car seat.
On June 21, local pastor Guy Burke’s home also was hit with a stray bullet in Indianola. No arrests have been made in either stray bullet case. Of the Indianola case, Sampson said, “We have some good leads but no one willing to cooperate fully or sign an affidavit. We have two to three suspects that we’re looking at, but no one will sign an affidavit in fear of retaliation.” Moorhead Police Chief Fred Randall was unavailable for comment by press time.
