CRIME BLOTTER: Rape Try, Thief Tracked, Hatchet Attack

Vinson

Alexander

Johnhat

Hairston

Keating

Morton

Lowndes County detectives say a suspected burglar who may have tried to sexually assault an ex-girlfriend is lucky to be alive.

Willie Morton, 32, is charged with breaking into an apartment on West Yorkville Road. The woman said she heard several knocks on her window and then someone trying to come through her door.

Detectives say she called 911 and Morton finally broke through the glass. She pulled a gun and fired at him but the gun jammed.

He hit and choked her and was pulling off his pants when deputies arrived.

He is being held on $25,000 bond. More charges may be filed.

DETECTIVES ‘TRACK’ THEFT SUSPECT

Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies literally track a theft suspect.

They have charged 31-year-old Jeffrey Keating with burglary for stealing $2,000 worth of copper from Brislin Refrigeration where he once worked on Military Road.

When the theft was reported, deputies followed footprints in the dirt, grass and mud to Keating’s home which is near the business. His bond is set at $10,000.

BURGLARIES MAY BE LINKED

Investigators say a Nettleton man charged with an Itawamba County church burglary may be responsible for similar break ins in other counties.

Jeffrey Wayne Alexander, 34, is charged with stealing thousands of dollars in electronics from the New Chapel United Methodist Church in Plantersville on February 14. Witnesses’ descriptions of his gold Buick led detectives to him.

Some of the property has been recovered.

He faces up to 14 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

WOMAN CHARGED IN MACHETE ATTACK

Itawamba County deputies say a woman attacked her neighbor with a machete.

Micheale Johnhat, 25, of Fulton, is charged with aggravated assault. Investigators say she hacked at the unidentified victim with a large knife.

Johnhat is also accused of breaking the victim’s car windows. The man received non life-threatening injuries.

Johnhat is being held on a $5,000 bond.

CARELESS DRIVING LEADS TO DRUGS

A case of careless driving lands a Columbus man in a heep of trouble.

Police say 25-year-old Tyson Hairston is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and felony fleeing.

He is being held on $20,000 bond.

He was arrested after officers tried to stop him on Hemlock Street for careless driving through a Columbus neighborhood.

He led police on a chase before finally being stopped on Beech Street in East Columbus.

STOLEN ATV LEADS TO ARREST

A man is charged with grand larceny after a stolen ATV is found in his yard.

Itawamba County investigators charged 30-year-old Glenn Vinson Wednesday after the item was found at his home on Alice Hall Road in the Golden community.

His bond is set at $10,000. He already was on parole for a prior felony conviction.

ANOTHER SHOOTING VICTIM RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL

Two of the four people wounded in a shooting Friday at a Columbus park have been released from the hospital.

But Columbus police say that’s about the only update on the case that still has the residential areas around Sim Scott Park on the city’s Northside shaken.

The four were shot behind a playground area and community building that sometimes is used as a police substation.

Police say they continue to conduct interviews but have not yet made any arrests.