By Monica Land
News Briefs From Across The State
Beer cans found in vehicle
Authorities believe alcohol may have been a factor in an accident that killed one man and injured another. Fifty-three-year old Kenneth Wedgeworth, of Louin, was killed on Thursday, March 1, when the car he was riding in left the roadway.
Authorities said the driver of the car, 29-year-old Michael Sessions, of Mendenhall, veered off Antioch Shiloh Road, hit some trees and landed upside down in a private pond around 4 p.m.
Sessions managed to free himself from the vehicle, once it came to a final rest in the water. He was sitting on the bank when first responders arrived.
Deputies said beer cans were floating all around the car in the water and were also in the car leading authorities to believe the accident was alcohol-related.
Body recovered from fire identified
Authorities say a Wilkinson County fire victim has been identified as 30-year-old Eddie Seiber.
Wilkinson County Coroner Travis Sharp said Seiber was identified by DNA analysis from the Mississippi Crime lab.
Seiber's body was recovered from a mobile home fire in Centreville on Feb. 15.
Authorities said Seiber was the only resident of the mobile home. Sharp said official cause of death was smoke inhalation.
3 teens killed in Lauderdale County
Authorities have released the names of three teenagers killed in an accident in Lauderdale County last month.
The victims were together in a car that collided with a pick-up truck. They were 19-year-old Christian Alan Delaney, 17-year-old Allyson N. Anderson, and 18-year-old Raymond Tyler Matos-Nieve. All were from Lauderdale County.
The truck driver was also injured but is expected to recover.
Authorities said a preliminary crash investigation determined the driver of the vehicle carrying the three teens lost control. The car crossed into the path of the truck. It is not clear who was driving the vehicle.
Rosedale officers on leave after unauthorized stop
Two Rosedale police officers are on leave after they allegedly stopped a car outside their jurisdiction. WABG is reporting that Officers Nakia Hall and Arthur Grisham were placed on administrative leave last week after an incident led them on a police chase resulting in the stop outside their jurisdiction.
The mayor, Carey Estes, and the board of alderman will discuss the matter at their next board meeting.
Burn ban law to be modified
It's illegal to burn common waste in Mississippi but that may be about to change, WCBI reported.
Most Mississippians burn piles of leaves and branches in their yards to prevent from having to haul them away.
Mississippi is a burn ban state and the ban conflicts with a long time custom of burning piles on private property. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is currently under pressure to change that.
Legislators and State officials are taking the matter under advisement and plan to modify the ban or give local authorities the right to regulate as they see fit.
Clarksdale still investigating robbery and kidnapping
In two separate cases, the Clarksdale Police Department is still investigating a robbery and the aggravated and kidnapping of a local man. Captain Robbie Linley said on Jan. 25, around 2:04 p.m., a white male was robbed at knifepoint by an unidentified black male. Linley said the assault took place in the 200 block of Desoto Avenue. The victim was not injured and the suspect remains at large.
Earlier in the month, Linley said a man was held against his will and shot at following a dice game. That assault occurred on Jan. 14 about 11:21 p.m. Linley said the unnamed victim was at a residence in the 800 block of McKinley Street when he was held there by two black males and beaten.
When the victim managed to escape, the two men allegedly shot at him as he ran away. The victim was not injured and no arrests have been made.