A Charleston man has been charged with murder in connection with the weekend stabbing death of a fellow city resident, Charleston Police Chief Donnie Tenner said Tuesday.
Donald “Chicken Hawk” Harris, 52, of 327 Eskridge St., Charleston, was arraigned Monday afternoon (April 2) in Charleston Municipal Court, where Judge Tara Lang ordered his bond be set at $100,000, noted Tenner.
The chief said Harris is being held at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler.
Harris allegedly inflicted “multiple stab wounds” on Jerry Tellis, 59, of 614 W. Magnolia St., Charleston, during a Sunday night (April 1) incident that reportedly began as a verbal altercation inside the 327 Eskridge St. residence that Harris shares with its female owner, Cody Chambers, the chief explained.
Tenner said Tellis reportedly was in the house when Chambers telephoned Harris, asking him to come and assist.
“They got into an altercation and Harris was trying to make Jerry leave the property,” said Tenner.
The chief said “at least three eyewitnesses” reported that the fracas then spilled into the front yard, where fisticuffs erupted and the stabbing allegedly occurred sometime about 9:30.
“Harris and Tellis were fighting in the front yard, and in the process Harris reportedly cut him,” the chief said.
There were no reports that Tellis exhibited a weapon, Tenner noted.
The chief said it is reported Harris brandished a pocketknife, although no weapon had been recovered as of Tuesday morning.
Tellis stumbled to his 1989 Nissan pickup truck and began driving himself toward Tallahatchie General Hospital, said Tenner.
After Tellis left, Harris and Chambers drove to the police station to file a complaint of simple assault against Tellis, Tenner noted, alleging that Tellis had hit Harris first.
The chief said the pair were unaware that less than a half-mile from the hospital, Tellis apparently lost consciousness and ran his vehicle into a curb behind Tallahatchie County Bank, near the intersection of South Market and Walnut streets.
A passerby reported the vehicle, and responding police found a lifeless Tellis slumped behind the steering wheel, Tenner explained.
Tallahatchie County Coroner Ginger Meriwether pronounced Tellis dead at the scene of the crash, Tenner said.
Harris was taken into custody just before midnight and formally charged early Monday, the chief noted.
Tenner said police “are still in the process of getting everything together,” including, he added, the nature of the original altercation.
IN THE PHOTO: Donald Harris has been charged with murder.
