ACKERMAN, Miss. (WCBI)-14 and a half hours later Dante Bender was taken into custody. Bender made his way from Newton County to Ackerman early this morning where he was caught and arrested. Bender allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend and unborn child along with Meridian police officer, Kennis Croom. His phone was pinged in Ackerman after an almost 15 hour…
MERIDIAN, Miss. (WCBI) – After a night on the run, a suspected cop killer is in jail in Meridian. 31-year-old Dante Marquez Bender is accused of shooting Meridian police officer Kennis Croom. Croom and other Meridian Police officers were called to a domestic violence incident around 5 PM Thursday afternoon. When they got to the scene, they found a victim…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – While most parents pay for summer camps, these campers are earning instead. Mississippi State University’s iCreate camp for young entrepreneurs gears up for business Saturday during their pop-up shop in Starkville. This week-long camp taught leadership and teamwork to help them build, market, and sell their products. Campers say that they have created products for all…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus police continue to arrest people suspected of stealing an officer’s weapons. Chief Fred Shelton says six juveniles and one adult have been arrested in the investigation. 18-year-old Javarion Davis is charged with felony taking of a motor vehicle and auto burglary. He remains in jail, and more arrests are expected. Officers have recovered four guns,…
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Noxubee County deputies make an arrest in a Dollar General armed robbery. Demetrias Prince is charged with armed robbery. Bond has not been set for the Shuqualak man. He remains in the Noxubee County jail. The hold-up happened this past Monday at Dollar General in Shuqualak. Deputies say the clerk was held at gunpoint by…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A Starkville man is accused of trying to lure an 11-year-old girl in a child sex crime arrest. 23-year-old Shykel Spruell is charged with enticement of a child to produce visual depiction. Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton says Spruell was allegedly sending messages to the child on the internet. The victim’s mother saw the messages and…
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – A festival honoring the king of rock and roll attracts fans and tribute artists of all ages. One by one, contestants in the Youth Day competition took the stage at the Elvis Presley Event Center. And although they were competing against each other, much like the adult ETAs, backstage, they are friends, jamming together to songs…
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- A Clay County jury has found Clark Allen Jr. guilty of capital murder. Allen was accused of killing Demario Snell, Mauricio Nance, and Tyshun Fields in Artesia in January 2018. The verdict follows a busy day in court that saw Allen take the stand in his own defense. Both cases presented closing arguments, and the jury…
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – On June 9, 1963, civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer and six other women were arrested for sitting at a “whites only” restaurant in Winona, then taken to the city jail and severely beaten. Nearly 60 years later, the town has marked the spot where the jail once stood. The Winona Board of Alderman voted to…
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Fans of the King of rock and roll are in Tupelo for a festival honoring that town’s most famous son. The Tupelo Elvis Festival is back and bigger than ever. Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan put on a pair of Elvis sunglasses when he gave a key to the city to last year’s Tupelo Ultimate Elvis Tribute…
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The Golden Triangle mayors have more things in common. Mayors from towns in the Golden Triangle are coming together to find new solutions to some old problems they’re all facing. During a Mayor’s Conference at the Communiversity Thursday, these town leaders acknowledged that they’re losing population and struggling to fight crime. “I think of the…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s a celebration of freedom; for the second year, Juneteenth is being recognized as a national holiday. Organizers of festivities in Columbus have been celebrating Juneteenth long before it became an official holiday. Lowndes County supervisor Leroy Brooks has helped organize the Juneteenth celebration in Columbus all 25 years. He said it started small, but got bigger…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against former board president Harry Sanders. A long-time employee of Lowndes County filed the suit against the Supervisor and in turn, the county. Cynthia Thompson, the county’s administrative secretary, filed the federal suit against Sanders more than a year ago. All parties agreed to the settlement terms…
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – Kids are out for summer vacation, and educators are preparing and repairing for the new school year. Open ceilings, unfinished floors, and materials out in the open. The Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District is updating and improving. “The money that was set aside for construction is just monumental for us because we have not been able to…
VERNON, Ala. (WCBI) – A Vernon man will spend 15 years in prison for elder abuse. 30-year-old Terrance Moore was found guilty of assaulting a 70-year-old woman. Prosecutors say Moore parked in front of the woman’s house for about half an hour in July 2020 but he did not know her. He became angry after the victim walked outside to…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The search for stolen guns from the Columbus Police Department, as another arrest, is made. 18-year-old Javarion Davis is charged with felony taking of a motor vehicle and auto burglary. He remains in the Lowndes County jail. Five juveniles have now been arrested in the investigation. Their names cannot be released because of their age. More…
LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Tuesday night, Louisville issued a city-wide emergency curfew, effective immediately, as high rates of gun violence continue in the small town. Mayor Will Hill says the Board of Aldermen has been discussing the possibility of a curfew for several months. “Guns, fully loaded 30-round magazines,” says Cpt. Mike Perkins, lead investigator for the Louisville Police Department….
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Future police officers are learning how to secure and process a crime scene. It is one of the many topics cadets at the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Center are studying during their twelve week training. For this class, Officer Rachel Carver, a training officer with the Oxford Police Department, has set up a mock crime…
OKOLONA, Miss. (WCBI)- People say something about it everyday now and it seems to only be getting worse. Gas prices are hitting new records worldwide. Those prices are impacting people differently; especially local volunteers. People that give their time like volunteer firefighters are also having to endure those prices to help those in their community; like Kenny Hall. Hall was…
OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – Oxford police make a quick arrest in a morning shooting. 69-year-old Michael Burt is charged with aggravated assault. OPD says the victim was shot in the leg in the 300 block of Dede Drive at about 10:44 AM. Investigators questioned two people but arrested Burt. Police did recover a weapon at a nearby home. Burt’s bond…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Helping boys navigate the journey to manhood. Eddie Myles is a longtime member of the Starkville chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and has mentored many young men during his membership. He says he began to notice a lack of professional and interview skills among young men he interacted with and that’s what sparked the Boys to…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It may not be an actual raise, but Columbus city employees will be seeing some extra cash this Summer. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Columbus City Council approved spending about $720,000 of ARPA money to provide incentive pay for city employees. The idea has been brought up a number of times since an accounting error during…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – An update on the burglary of a Columbus police officer’s cruiser. Four arrests have been made, so far, and some items have been recovered. Police Chief Fred Shelton says one adult and three juveniles are charged in the case. No names or specific charges are being released at this time. Shelton tells WCBI that two vests,…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Three women are facing various fraud charges related to tax returns. Erica Sherrod faces 14 counts of fraudulent statements, four counts of fraudulent use of an ID, and one count of computer fraud. Patricia Pratt is charged with five counts of fraudulent statements, four counts of tax evasion, two fraudulent use of an ID, and one…