A 14-year-old Sunflower boy is in hot water with county law enforcement after he allegedly took a shotgun and a .22 caliber handgun from Sheriff James Haywood’s vehicle
The sheriff’s truck was parked at his residence on Saturday morning, and according to Haywood, both weapons were recovered without incident.
He said the theft was apparently part of a gang initiation and the teenager has been referred to youth court and released into the custody of his parents.
Haywood said it is always his practice to lock his truck and he is sure that he locked it before going into the house although there was no broken glass or apparent sign of forced entry. He said the thief was caught on video and was identified with the help of another resident.
Haywood insists that he usually removes his weapons each night and even though the shotgun was left in the truck, it was in what he believed was a secure place and he is astonished that the boy was able to get his hands on it. Haywood said he would never leave another weapon in his truck, “Nothing, never again,” he said.
According to Haywood, the boy’s parents told him that their son was just in church the night before and he quipped that it wasn’t what happened in church that caused the infraction, but what happened afterwards.
Haywood said evidently someone in the gang told the boy to go steal from the sheriff as part of his initiation, so he cautions parents to be careful regarding their children. He said even though you don’t hear about it much, gangs are out there, “Know where they (your children) are at night, they’re recruiting these kids,” he said, “These initiations are going to get somebody hurt.”
Haywood is not the only law enforcement figure who has fallen victim to theft in the last few weeks. In early August a Memphis television station reported an AR-15, a Glock 9 mm pistol, a duty belt and other belongings were stolen from a deputy out of his unmarked truck in Tate County near Senatobia.
And more recently, a Jackson station reported that the homes of two Holmes County deputies were broken into and items were taken. The first incident happened on Aug. 24 when someone broke into a deputy’s home and took guns and a uniform. A second deputy’s home was broken in to on Sept. 19 where the culprit allegedly came in through a bedroom window and stole guns and a bulletproof vest.
In each case the authorities are still searching for the items and the individuals responsible.
