Eight local residents, all of them relatives, were arrested last week on a variety of assault, weapons and other charges stemming from alleged violent attacks against each other and/or other kinfolk, according to Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly.
“It was not a fun Fourth of July,” said Fly, who noted that from 11:27 a.m. Sunday, July 3, until about 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, the sheriff’s office fielded “13 different calls about people either shooting in vehicles, shooting at somebody or shooting a house.”
All of the incidents involved members and relatives of the Kimble and Wrenn families and occurred in the areas of Mt. Olive and Tatum Pond roads, as well as near Mid-Way convenience store on Highway 32 east of Charleston, said the sheriff.
“Everyone involved is in some kind of way related, whether by marriage or in some other kind of way tied into each other,” Fly noted.
He said five vehicles and several homes were shot up during the roughly 58-hour period of family feuding when bullets were flying recklessly around the countryside.
“They were shooting near the store, across the state highway and public roads,” said Fly, who added he was “thankful no one was seriously injured or killed” and that “no innocent people were injured when all of this foolishness was going on.”
At Mid-Way, the sheriff explained, one person was pumping gas in front of the store when another pulled over at the nearby car wash.
"Some words were exchanged between them and then the shooting happened," he noted.
One of the combatants sustained a gunshot wound to his foot and another had an arm injury, the sheriff noted, adding that the latter individual did not report his wound to officials. Fly said his hesitance likely stemmed from the fact he already had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on unrelated charges.
"He did have an injury to his arm," the sheriff said. "We're not sure if it's a gunshot wound or a cut from broken glass or what. That's still being investigated."
Most of the eight who were arrested in connection with the recent shooting spree appeared July 7 before Judge Steve Ross in Tallahatchie County 1st District Justice Court in Charleston, with half of them bound over to the grand jury.
» Quentin Jamal Kimble, 23, of 30923 Highway 32, Charleston, was bound over on three counts of attempted aggravated assault, as well as shooting into an occupied vehicle, exhibiting a weapon, simple assault and trespassing. He was released on a bond of $75,000.
» Sanford Moore Jr., 27, of 1323 Eskridge St., Charleston, was bound over on three counts of attempted aggravated assault, one of which involved a minor. His bond was set at $70,000.
» Tyler Jaquion Sally, 17, of 12577 N. Highway 51, Grenada, was charged as an adult and bound over on two counts of attempted aggravated assault and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, bond set at $70,000.
»Tramaih Wrenn, 23, of 465 Mt. Olive Road, Tillatoba, was bound over on three counts of attempted aggravated assault and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle and was being held on a bond of $70,000.
» Raymond Earl Coffey Jr., 22, of 1161 Teal Lane, Tillatoba, is being held without bond pending a July 21 court date on charges of possession of a stolen firearm, felony possession of a controlled substance, felon in possession of a fire-arm, burglary of a dwelling and grand larceny.
»Lashonda Denise Kimble, 35, of 7296 Tatum Pond Road, Tillatoba, faces a July 21 court appearance on simple assault and trespassing.
» Robert Antonio Kimble, 36, of 441 Mt. Olive Road, Tillatoba, was ruled guilty on a charge of failure to comply with a law enforcement officer and fined $303, and exhibiting a weapon, for which he was fined $413.
» Ira Leon “Blue” Wrenn, 59, of 1658 Tom Payne Road, Tillatoba, had a felony charge of assault on a law enforcement officer reduced to a misdemeanor simple assault, to which he pleaded guilty and was fined $437. He also was fined $413 for exhibiting a weapon and $303 for failure to comply with a lawman.
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During their investigation, Fly said “numerous shell casings” were recovered by lawmen from multiple locations and two handguns were confiscated and sent to the state Crime Lab for analysis.
"We do believe that an assault-style rifle was used in some of the shootings, but we have not been able to recover that weapon yet," the sheriff stated.
In an attempt to locate some of the firepower, Fly said officials obtained and executed search warrants at two different homes in the community. He added that lawmen from Yalobusha County assisted with that task.
"One search warrant didn't turn up anything," he noted. "The other search warrant, we were able to recover a stolen .30-30 rifle that was actually stolen out of Panola County in 1993. Also at that residence, there was a container filled with what we believe is marijuana. We've sent that to the Crime Lab to be tested."
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The rampage stemmed from a recent nonviolent incident that escalated and featured alternating rounds of retaliation, Fly noted.
"Several times I responded to a call and we were trying to ask questions about it and the response we would get is, 'I'm not a snitch. I'm not telling y'all anything. We're going to handle it on our own.' When you get responses like that and people are trying to take their own justice out, this is kind of what led to all of this," the sheriff added.
“I hope and pray it’s all over with,” he noted. “We don’t need any more of that.”
The sheriff said anyone with information about these incidents or any other crimes may call his office at 662-647-3700 or the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston at 662-647-5511.
"They can remain anonymous," he advised.
