State Rep. Jessica Upshaw dead of apparent suicide

State officials are saying State Rep. Jessica Upshaw (pictured) died Sunday reportedly of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

News Briefs From Across The State

By Monica Land

Upshaw had gunshot wound to the head

State officials are saying State Rep. Jessica Upshaw (pictured) died Sunday reportedly of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Simpson County Coroner Terry Tutor said state Rep. Jessica Upshaw has died.

Tutor said the Diamondhead Republican died Sunday.

Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain says the crime scene unit is at a home in Mendenhall, investigating her death.

Simpson County Sheriff Kenneth Lewis told WLOX that Upshaw appeared to have shot herself in the head in an apparent suicide.

“It appeared she had a gunshot wound to her head; it appeared to be self-inflicted,” he said.

Upshaw, a Republican from Diamondhead along the state’s coast, died about 110 miles from her hometown, CBS News reported.

Lewis told The Clarion-Ledger that she was found at the home of former Mississippi State Rep. Clint Rotenberry, who has not been arrested.

House Minority Leader Bobby

Moak describes Upshaw as a passionate champion of causes for her district and the state.

Trial for man charged failing to register as sex offender

Federal court records say an April 8 trial date has been set for a man charged with failing to register as a sex offender after moving from Mississippi to Ohio.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Greenville, Miss., says James Artis Gilmore was convicted in 1982 on charges of rape, kidnapping and armed robbery in Tate County, Miss.

The filing says he had been living in Desoto County, Miss., before moving to Toledo, Ohio. He was arrested in Ohio on Dec. 5.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Court upholds Lowndes man’s convictions

Edward Neal (MDOC photo)

The state Court of Appeals has upheld Lowndes County man’s convictions for armed robbery and aggravated assault.

Edward L. Neal, 24, was sentenced to 60 years as a habitual offender following a trial in 2010.

Authorities say Neal robbed Samuel Livingston, 83, in December of 2006 after posing as someone who wanted to rent property from Livingston. Authorities said Livingston was shot in both legs while trying to get away from Neal.

Neal initially denied involvement in the incident, but later gave a statement to police about what happened. Prosecutors say Neal waived his Miranda rights.

In his appeal, Neal argued the trial judge was wrong not to throw out the statement he gave to police.

The Appeals Court rejected Neal’s appeal.

Fugitive arrested after being spotted on wanted poster

An Alabama man on the run from a murder conviction was arrested by police in Moss Point.

Police Chief Keith Davis said Jesse Cooley escaped from a Mobile County, Ala., mental institution after his 1981 murder conviction.

Davis says Cooley was in a Moss Point post office when someone saw his picture on a poster from the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and called 911.

Davis said the 54-year-old Cooley had been “on the run for years.” Davis says police arrested Cooley without incident.

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