060713 corinth e edition

Page 1

Friday June 7,

2013

50 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 135

T-storm Today

Tonight

83

58

20% chance of rain

• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • Two sections

Man pleads guilty to leaving the scene King gets maximum sentence from crash that killed one, injured two BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

BOONEVILLE — The widow of former Prentiss County School District Curriculum Coordinator Jason McKinney sobbed Thursday as she told Dylan G. King of the impact his actions had on their family prior to King’s sentencing for leaving the scene of the August 2012 accident that claimed the life of her husband and left two of his coworkers severely injured. “I can’t understand how someone could be so self-cen-

tered to act in such a neglectful way to how his actions affect others around him,” said Dawn McKinney. King, 21, of Corinth King p l e a d e d guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving a death and was sentenced to the maximum

of 20 years in prison with 14 suspended and six to serve by Circuit Judge James Roberts. King must also serve five years of post-release supervision following the completion of his sentence and pay a $1,000 fine. No deal was made for King to enter his plea and Assistant District Attorney Richard Bowen declined to make any specific recommendation on the sentence. The maximum sentence for the charge is 20 years and the minimum is three years. He was accused of fleeing the

scene of a crash near the intersection of North Second Street (Mississippi Highway 145) and Gaston Road in Booneville that killed McKinney, 36, and seriously injured Prentiss County Superintendent of Education Randle Downs and the district’s federal programs coordinator Luke Ledbetter. Downs suffered a punctured lung and back injuries and was unable to work for more than two months. King tearfully apologized to McKinney’s family and all

Makin’ moonshine

those affected by the crash, saying there was never any intent for it to happen. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for everything,” he said as he broke down into sobs. King’s attorney, Nicholas Bain of Corinth, emphasized his client was not charged with causing the crash and blood tests showed no evidence of any intoxicating substance in his system. He said King’s only crime was fleeing from the Please see KING | 2A

Trailer stolen from residence BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

State and local agents found these two illegal moonshine stills in an Alcorn County residence. Agents say one whiskey still was used for making moonshine, while the other was for sale on eBay.

Father, son charged with felony possession of illegal distillery BY MARK BOEHLER editor@dailycorinthian.com

State and local agents have arrested an Alcorn County father and son for making illegal moonshine and building illegal moonshine stills to sell on ebay. Alcorn County Narcotics Unit Investigator Jason Willis identi-

fied the suspects as Roger Sharp of Alcorn County Road 750 and Sharp’s son, Robert Sharp. Roger Sharp faces two felony charges of possession of an illegal distillery and possession of marijuana, plus a misdemeanor charge of possession of alcohol in a dry county, said Willis. Robert Sharp also must face the

felony illegal distillery charge and possession of paraphernalia. The arrests were made Wednesday. Circuit Court Judge Jim Pounds set bond at $10,000 for the father and $5,000 for the son. Willis and fellow narcotics investigator Darrell Hopkins and

several agents with the Mississippi Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) carried out the search warrant at Roger Sharp’s house, where they discovered two moonshine stills, 1.5 ounces of marijuana, about 3.5 gallons of moonshine and paraphernalia, Please see MOONSHINE | 2A

The Corinth Police Department is seeking leads on a car hauler trailer stolen from a residence Wednesday afternoon. The 18-foot trailer was parked at a residence near the intersection of Kendrick Road and Pinecrest. A 1960 Palmer truck cab wrapped in gray plastic was on the hauler at the time it was taken. At least a couple of people saw a suspect at the scene at different times, said Detective Capt. Ralph Dance. About 11 a.m., a white, late-model Ford F150 pickup was in the driveway, and a white male described as tall and slender and wearing a cowboy hat or straw hat knocked on the door of the residence and then left. About 1:30 p.m., another person driving by saw a pickup matching that description backed up to the trailer, apparently preparing to leave with it. The trailer has a wench on the front. The owner was getting ready to put the old truck cab on the frame of a truck. “We would like to hear from anybody that may have seen this theft in progress or has any information about this case,” said Dance. Report information to the police department at 2863377 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi at 1-800-773-tips or crimestoppersms.com.

Area farmers hard at it despite rains ‘Snake Man’ kicking off BY CAROL HUMPHREYS chumphreys@dailycorinthian.com

Despite frequent rains this spring, area farmers haven’t been overly concerned with their fields going under water from nearby creeks. They just want to get their crops planted in the first place. So far this year, Alcorn County has received over 24 inches of rain. The month of April alone saw close to 6 inches of rain. The 2013 rain totals for the spring planting months of April and May are twice the amount of the 2012 rain totals for the same months last year. The rainy weather has cre-

ated so many rain delays that many row crops are now behind schedule. The months of April, May and June have so far seen a total of 21 rain days. As for the state of Mississippi, Ernie Flint, an area agronomist, said the state was at least a month behind. “I’ve never seen anything that compares with this spring. I’ve seen the Delta planted late but never the whole state,” he stated. He added, “It’s far from time to panic. There’s still time to get crops in the ground before the absolute cutoff date. Our farmers run up to 18-

row planters, and some are changing drivers and running around the clock. They don’t like to do it, but the instrumentation and seed monitors they have make it possible for them to plant in the dark.” Alcorn County was significantly behind compared to other areas in the state as far as getting into the fields and getting crops planted. This was mainly due to the wet weather. Patrick Poindexter, Extension agent/coordinator with the MSU Extension Service in Alcorn County, said, “Every

Index Stocks......8A Classified......4B Comics......9A State......5A

Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....11A

Please see CROPS | 2A

Summer Reading Program BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Snakes are coming to the library. “Snake Man” Terry Vandeventer, a wildlife expert and former head of the Jackson Zoo Reptile Department, will bring his serpentine presentation to the Corinth Library for the first time on Wednesday at 1 p.m. “The snake man will kick off our Summer Reading Program, and we are encouraging all children and adults, since

school is out, to come to the library,” said Librarian Brandon Lowrey. Attending children can expect to get a look at live snakes while learning about the characteristics and life of the creatures, the snake’s benefits to man and safety issues around snakes. With his Living Reptile Museum, Vandeventer’s program emphasizes species native to the Deep South, such as the Please see SNAKES | 2A

On this day in history 150 years ago Union soldiers burn “Brierfield,” the plantation home of President Jefferson Davis in Warren County, Miss. While national attention is focused on the war, French troops occupy Mexico City with plans to turn Mexico into a French colony.

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