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Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 43
Today
Tonight
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55
20% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • 1 section
5 deer crash into building
Murder suspect’s bond set
Employee: ‘They were as scared as we were’ BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
The employees at Magnolia Regional Health Center’s financial services office had unexpected visitors Tuesday morning. Five deer – three doe, one buck and one fawn – burst through the double doors at the front entrance to the MRHC office on Shiloh Road. No glass was broken and the deer actually entered through the door around 10 a.m. “I saw the pack of deers come out of the woods on the other side of the road,” said receptionist Cindy Inman. “They were running full speed toward the office.” Inman and co-worker Debra Kirk watched the deer run into the office causing quite a commotion. “I’ve seen deer across the road grazing before, but never thought this could happen,” said Kirk. “It was scary.” One of more than 20 employees at the office called 911, reporting she thought she heard gun shots being fired in-
Mild
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Walker. “Then someone said, ‘it’s just a deer.’”
Bond was set at $1.2 million for a man suspected of killing two brothers. Sirdon Capanion Greer, 28, of 1803 East Fifth Street, Corinth, faces charges on two counts of first degree murder and one count of arson after being arrested for allegedly fatally shooting brothers James and Jerry Copeland and setting their home on fire. Corinth Municipal Judge John C. Ross, Jr. set bond at $500,000 for each count of murder and another $200,000 for arson during Greer’s initial appearance in court. Corinth attorney Clay S. Nails was appointed to represent Greer. The attorney said he would file a writ of habeas corpus by the end of the week or early next week for his client. A writ requires a person under arrest
Please see DEER | 3A
Please see GREER | 3A
Staff photo by Zack Steen
A MRHC cleaning crew was called to the financial services office on Shiloh Road to clean up after five deers entered the building Tuesday morning. side the building. It was actually noise created when all but one of the deer ran to the back of the office, passing employee
cubicles in the process. “We were all screaming and freaking out, hiding under our desks,” said employee Mettie
County rejects engineer’s invoices Fatal shootings BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors is saying “no” to payment of invoices totaling more than $40,000 from the former county engineer. Ricky Newcomb, who was replaced by Cook Coggin as county engineer at the beginning of the current term, appeared before the board in December to ask the supervisors’ intention on payment of bills he submitted. The board on Tuesday took action on all but one of the outstanding invoices. The largest bill for more than $39,000 is for industrial site work. Newcomb continued to work on that project for several months into the current term until Cook Coggin took on the work.
The board’s decision not to pay appears to hinge on there not being a contract in place at the time, and the work was performed in anticipation of future grant funding being awarded. The board decided in a 3-2 vote that one of the invoices for approximately $1,500 for work on the U.S. 45 site would not be paid, with one board member suggesting The Alliance should pay that bill. Supervisors also rejected payment of invoices on two projects in the second district — one for about $1,300 and one for about $1,400 — and one in the first district for $868 for cleanup work on Chambers Creek. Board President Lowell Hinton said there was no engineering involved in cleaning trees out of
Chambers Creek. The board held out one invoice to consult the minutes to determine if there was a board action ordering the work. In other business: • The board agreed to Caterpillar’s request to rename a portion of Tecumseh Way as Legacy Drive. The change applies to the portion of the road from South Harper to where it turns toward FedEx and will not affect the addresses of other businesses in the area. • Supervisors approved the hiring of Karen Deberry as a parttime receptionist at the regional correctional facility. • County Road 460 resident Larry Parks addressed the board about a problem with a water line. • The board’s next meeting is set for 9 a.m. March 3.
Aldermen approve stun gun purchases BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
New stun guns will soon be in the holsters of Corinth law enforcement. The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved the purchase of 10 electronic control devices and holsters from Phazzer at a cost of $6,300. Taser submitted a bid of $8,909. The purchase is being made with available funds. In a light open session agenda, the board also gave approval for the fire department to seek a Fire
Prevention and Safety Grant to provide 1,000 smoke detectors that would be installed in Corinth homes. A 5 percent local match is required. If the grant is awarded, the FD will publicize the program and make the detectors available to local homeowners. They are not available to renters, said Fire Chief Billy Briggs. The detectors must be installed by the fire department. The program has been offered in the city and county previously to help citizens better protect
their homes. According to the National Fire Protection Association, from 2003 to 2006, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. No smoke alarms were present in 40 percent of the home fire deaths. In another 23 percent, the home had alarms that did not activate. The board also approved a code of standards for city employees that basically mirrors state law and went into executive session for a number of matters.
Index Stocks......8A Classified......3B Comics......2B State......5A
OVER
165 PRE-OWNED
IN STOCK!
Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....12A
shock family BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The families of James and Jerry Copeland are looking for answers to why the two were fatally shot and their home destroyed by fire. The two brothers were both shot in the head early Feb. 13. Sirdon Capanion Greer, 28, of 1803 East Fifth Street, Corinth, was arrested for allegedly using a .410 shotgun to shoot the men, then using an accelerant found in the home to start the blaze. “I can’t understand why two innocent men were killed,” said the Copelands’ nephew, Paul Copeland. “None of the family understands why … I wouldn’t want anyone to go through this.” Greer was charged Tuesday with two counts of first degree murder and James Copeland one count of arson. “My uncle James was well-known and he wouldn’t hurt anyone,” said his nephew. “Jerry was a good Christian man who would help any person.” James Copeland, 67, and Jerry Copeland, 64, had shared the white vinyl home at 912 Second Street for about two years, according to their nephew. “James had talked with me about buying a home,” said Paul Copeland. Jerry Copeland “We were real close and talked about everything.” Corinth firemen discovered the bodies of the Copelands in the back of the house after extinguishing the blaze. “A neighbor called me and said ‘you need to get over here. Your uncles’ house in on fire,’” said Paul of last Please see KILLINGS | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago Confederate troops in North Georgia are heavily outnumbered by the enemy. President Jefferson Davis orders Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard to send 10,000 troops from the Atlantic coast. Citing his own difficulties, Beauregard sends noone.
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