A mistrial was declared for a woman accused of abusing a vulnerable adult when her internal defibrilator malfunctioned on the witness stand Wednesday.
The witness stand microphone apparently interfered with Mary Harris” defibrilator, causing her to pass out. Circuit Court Judge Lee Howard declared a mistrial and Harris was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. She and co-defendant Roy Friday will have their trial rescheduled.
The pair are accused of abuse and identity theft of Ezelle Knight.
Sixteenth Circuit Court judges Lee Howard and Jim Kitchens handed down the following sentences during the May term in Lowndes County:
Howard presiding
- Kenneth Smith, of 3266 Hwy. 69 S. in Columbus, pleaded guilty to burglary of a building and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a fine of $1,000.
- Carl A. Lee, of 104 Mill St. in Columbus, pleaded guilty to felony false pretense and was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $1,508.
- Woodrow Hodo III, of 2207 Seventh Ave. N. in Columbus, had probation for aggravated DUI revoked and was sentenced to five years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
- Jason Ray Taylor, of 183 Temple Drive in Columbus, pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud and was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $2,377.
- Stephen Randall Knight, of 101 Tenneco Drive in Columbus, had probation for sale of cocaine revoked and was sentenced to five years in MDOC.
- Howard Williams, of 43 Pandora Drive in Columbus, pleaded guilty to four counts of sale of cocaine and was sentenced to 20 years in MDOC, five years post-release supervision and fined $10,000.
- Carol Oettle, of 53 Hartley Drive in Columbus, pleaded guilty to manufacture of methamphetamines and possession of precursors and was sentenced to 15 years in MDOC, five years post-release supervision and fined $5,000.
- Albert Greenlee, of 260 Gregory Road in Columbus, pleaded guilty to sale of cocaine and two counts of sale of marijuana and was sentenced to 16 years in MDOC and fined $5,000.
- Demetrius Burgin, of 519 10th Ave. S. in Columbus, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault and was sentenced to six months in the county jail.
- Charity R. Eckford, of 1455 Hwy. 373 Lot 22 in Columbus, had post-release supervision for taking a motor vehicle revoked and was sentenced to four years in MDOC.
- Cassandra M. Collier, of 4255 County Lake Road in Sulligent, Ala., pleaded guilty to possession of precursors and was sentenced to five years probation and fined $5,000.
- Matthew Hill, of 2505 Fourth Ave. N. in Columbus, pleaded guilty to statutory rape and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
- Cathy Griffin, of 1721 County Highway 167 in Hackelburg, Ala., had probation for possession of methamphetamine revoked and was sentenced to four years in MDOC.
- Dennis Deon Hicks, of 601 Alabama St. in Columbus, had probation for malicious mischief revoked and was sentenced to five years in MDOC.
- Amanda Parker, of 1279 Wiley Road in Caledonia, had probation for burglary of a dwelling revoked and was sentenced to five years in MDOC.
Kitchens presiding
- Rita Kay, A.K.A. Rita Bush, of 207 Honnoll Mill Road in Caledonia, pleaded guilty to sale of methamphetamine and possession of precursors and was sentenced to 24 years in MDOC and fined $10,000.
- Daniel Garrard, of 386 Beersheba Road in Columbus, pleaded guilty to seven counts of burglary and two counts of auto burglary and was sentenced to nine years in MDOC and ordered to pay $8,829.
- Darryl Vince Brown, of 293 Patterson Road in Greenwood Springs, pleaded guilty to possession of amphetamines and hydrocodone and was sentenced to four years probation.
- Gina Steen, of 1414 Hughes Road in Columbus, pleaded guilty to sale of cocaine and was sentenced to six years in MDOC and fined $5,000.
- Leon Hines, of 2517 Sixth Ave. N. in Columbus, pleaded guilty to false pretense and was sentenced to three years in MDOC.
- Darin Haynes Jr., of 278 Christian Circle in Columbus, pleaded guilty to seven counts of burglary of a dwelling, three counts of burglary of an automobile and was sentenced to 19 years in MDOC, five years post-release supervision and ordered to pay $11,254.
- Mondrale Averhart, of 906 13th St. S. in Columbus, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and MDMA less than 2 grams and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to complete drug counseling.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
