News Briefs From Across The State
By Monica Land
Teen was allegedly trying to break into man’s home
WLBT reported that a man already facing a murder charge for killing a 15-year-old boy has now been arrested for drugs.
Jackson Police said Cedric Ratliff, 26, had almost half a pound of marijuana in his possession at a residence in the 1400 block of Cox Street.
The drugs have a street value of about $1,000. One thousand dollars in cash was also recovered from the residence, WLBT said.
Ratliff was charged in the shooting death of 15-year-old Edward Evans in 2012. Reportedly, Evans and several other men were trying to break into Ratliff’s home when Ratliff allegedly fired several shots striking the teen in the face, sources said.
Police believe Evans died in some nearby bushes and his decomposed body was found two weeks later.
Peoples Bank to open air base office
The Peoples Bank opened a full-service office this month at Keesler Air Force Base on the Mississippi coast.
People Chairman/CEO Chevis Swetman said the office will provide safe deposit boxes, a drive-up lane and an ATM and can handle all of the bank’s financial fixtures.
The Keesler location will bring the number of Peoples Bank branches to 17 in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties.
The company was founded in 1896 and reported $846 million in assets as of March 31, 2013. It is a subsidiary of Peoples Financial Corp.
Judge lets ex-sheriff’s employee lawsuit continue
A federal judge says a Lee County Sheriff’s Office employee fired after he was quoted in a newspaper article may legally pursue whether his speech was constitutionally protected.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal says Rodricus Carltez Hurst’s lawsuit was filed in 2013.
On Jan. 1, 2012, Hurst confirmed to a reporter that a Mississippi State University football player was in the Lee County Jail after a bar fight, then released on his own recognizance.
The sheriff’s department has a policy of employee termination for releasing information without authorization. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock granted part of Lee County’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. But the judge also noted that there was no inquiry by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security about whether Hurst engaged in protected speech.
Lafayette County Chancery Court judge dies
Judge Edwin Roberts, who was serving his third term, died Monday, July 1, at his home in Oxford. He was 65.
Officials with Waller Funeral Home in Oxford said funeral services were scheduled for Saturday, July 6 at the First Baptist Church in Oxford.
Lafayette County Chancery Clerk Sherry Wall said Roberts died from complications from an inoperable lung tumor and a brain tumor.
Roberts began his first term as chancery judge in 2003. His brother, Judge Larry Roberts, serves on the state Court of Appeals.
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