Two Columbus men who were arrested in December for their involvement in a shooting outside a Starkville McDonald”s are facing new charges this week related to an Aug. 15 purse snatching in downtown Starkville.
Christopher Easterwood, 19, of 1129 Seventh St. N. in Columbus, and Tony I. Marton, 17, of the same address, were arrested Monday on charges of accessory after the fact, according to a Starkville Police Department press release. The pair joined a juvenile who was arrested Aug. 19 on a robbery charge; he stands accused of snatching a Mississippi State University student”s purse Aug. 15 at the corner of Main and Lafayette streets, police said.
The juvenile”s name was not released by police because he was under the age of 17. Only the identities of suspects 17 and older who are arrested on felony charges can be released, Starkville police said.
A fourth suspect, 22-year-old Andrea Turner, of 1124 Sixth Ave. N. in Columbus, was arrested by the Columbus Police Department Monday on a warrant for armed robbery charges, which occurred in Columbus. Starkville police have placed a hold on Turner, so when he makes bond on the Columbus, charges he will go directly into the custody of Starkville police.
Easterwood and Marton previously were arrested in December of 2008 by the Starkville Police Department on disturbing the peace charges stemming from a shooting outside the McDonald”s near the corner of Highway 12 and Spring Street. The incident took place after the Starkville High School and Columbus High School basketball game.
The most recent charges stem from an incident in which the female victim, whom police identified as an MSU volleyball player, and two friends were walking down the sidewalk when they noticed two males walking toward them. After passing on the sidewalk, the males turned and began to follow the females, police said.
One of the males grabbed the purse of the victim while the other male hit the victim in the face, which caused her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. A struggle for the purse ensued; then the two males forcibly took the purse and contents from the victim and fled the area.
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