A local grand jury has indicted a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper on a charge of assaulting a Tallahatchie County deputy sheriff.
Dinoion “Dino” Stutts, 42, of 5324 Barnacre Road, Sardis, was named in a one-count indictment for simple assault on a law enforcement officer, according to a true bill returned Feb. 7 by a Tallahatchie County grand jury empaneled in the First Judicial District at Charleston.
Stutts, a highway patrol supervisor, was arrested and booked into the Tallahatchie County Jail in Charleston at 10:53 a.m. on March 2. He was released 21 minutes later on a recognizance bond issued by Justice Court Judge Jimmy Fly.
On March 10, Stutts, who is represented by Oxford attorney Daniel H. Sparks, waived arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty, according to case records on file at the circuit clerk’s office in Charleston.
Discovery is ongoing, and no trial date had been set as of Tuesday.
The Highway Patrol has not yet responded to a Sun-Sentinel inquiry about Stutts' job status in the wake of the indictment.
The origins of the case trace back to a June 3 one-vehicle accident that occurred on Enid-Teasdale Road near Enid.
Five days later, on June 8, Deputy Benjamin “Benji” McKinney of the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Office filed an affidavit against Stutts with the justice court clerk’s office in Charleston.
In that document, McKinney asserted that Stutts had caused bodily injury to him “by grabbing him by his right arm, and slamming him against a car” at the scene of the June 3 accident.
The indictment charges that Stutts twisted McKinney’s arm and slammed him into a car.
During a July 28 hearing at the Panola County Courthouse in Sardis to determine whether probable cause existed for Stutts to face charges, testimony emerged that a disagreement had formed over a jurisdictional matter, according to an account later printed in The Panolian of Batesville.
The question was whether the accident occurred on state highway or county road and who should work the scene.
McKinney and fellow Deputy Sheriff Jerry “Bubba” Williams II were among those who testified.
According to The Panolian’s account, McKinney testified that Stutts decided patrolmen would not work the scene, stating it was not on a state highway.
McKinney said he told Stutts that he would work the wreck himself and would call Stutts’ supervisor the following Monday, The Panolian reported. McKinney said Stutts left his car, grabbed him and threw him against the car, holding him there for a minute or so, according to testimony that was confirmed by Williams.
Both deputies stated Stutts said, “You’re not going to disrespect me like that,” prior to him leaving the car, The Panolian’s account continued.
Stutts testified that he left his car after McKinney became belligerent.
Stutts stated that McKinney said, “You so stupid you can’t tell it’s a state highway and you are a supervisor,” a comment that Williams’ testimony said didn’t happen, The Panolian’s story noted.
Stutts also said he grabbed McKinney only because “his right hand went toward his gun belt,” while later agreeing with his attorney that he used the least amount of force necessary to calm the situation, The Panolian reported.
The Batesville newspaper said Tallahatchie County Prosecuting Attorney Carol Turner tried to bring up past instances of aggression by Stutts, most of which were thwarted by objections from Stutts' attorney.
