It started with the Clarksdale Press Register letting a man wash our windows after he came in and asked for a few bucks.
It ended with him going to jail for six months after he hit me with a stick in the doorway of my office in downtown Clarksdale on Jan. 1.
Mark Twain once said, “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.”
Circumstances
It started with my tires being slashed in downtown Clarkdale back before Thanksgiving.
I was confronted by Robert Leflore Jones as I delivered a bundle of papers to Corner Grocery. Jones asked for money and I said no, and walked inside.
He followed me in the store and cursed me and said I gave money to others, why not him.
I’ve been in my share of tight spots and saw this coming. I pulled out my camera and told him not to touch me. He did and I pushed him away.
He ran out the door and dared me to come outside. I called the police, they arrived, took my information and told me I could leave.
As I rolled to my next delivery, I realized I had four flat tires. Again I called Police and they took a report.
I was told I would need to file my own report and sign an affidavit to get the case investigated. I was told I needed evidence he slashed my tires
I told them, with all honesty, I did not see him slash my tires.
Abraham Lincoln was a country lawyer before he became president. He once said, “People lie, circumstances don’t.”
A group of men from my church offered to pay for my tires. My boss Wyatt Emmerich said I was at work and your Clarksdale Press Register picked up the tab for $446.54.
I moved on.
Crime
On Jan. 1, at about 9:30 p.m., I was working at our office downtown when I heard a commotion outside near my truck.
I went to the door and there was Robert Jones and a woman on the sidewalk!
I asked him what he was doing.
He cursed me.
I told him to move along.
He cursed me some more.
I told him I was calling police.
He hit me with a stick.
I took a picture of him holding that stick and called police.
Officers arrived and told me I would have to sign an affidavit. I went to the Police Department the next day and swore out my complaint and signed my name.
Jones was picked up and a court date set.
A wise Clarksdale coffee-drinker once said, “The swift and sure execution of true justice is the foundation of a safe community.”
Court
I showed up at Clarksdale Municipal Court with Judge Derrick Hopson presiding.
And this is where it gets interesting.
Jones has a court record of 73 misdemeanor charges, 18 traffic citations and five felony charges. He owes the City of Clarksdale $11,907.55 in fines. He has only paid $183 on those fines. And he walked the streets of downtown Clarksdale at night, before he bumped into me.
City Prosecutor Bill Gresham asked what I wanted. I said I wanted to be safe and secure in my person and my business.
He suggested 60-days in jail. I agreed. Jones agreed and signed his plea agreement.
Then he told the judge he had something to say.
Hopson, in no uncertain terms, told Jones he had just signed a document admitting his guilt and this was the sentencing phase.
Jones raised his voice and Hopson raised his!
Once everyone got civil and settled down, Grisham simply said “Let’s try the case.”
Jones told his side. I told mine.
Judge Hopson then sentenced Jones to one year in jail, a $500 fine, with a review in six months.
“The closest thing to God on earth, is a judge sitting on the bench.” C.S. Lewis.
Concerns
Mr. Jones will get three square meals for the next six month, healthcare and counseling in a dry, heated and cooled place. It is probably better than the life he was living.
How many more people in Clarksdale owe $1,000, $2,000 or $5,000 in fines? People who show up in court with those kind of fines need to see the Judge issue a bench warrant, and put them in jail.
Mississippi needs to fund treatment for those with mental health issues. You can’t put someone in jail for being crazy. You can put someone in jail if they commit a crime.
Good people need to protect other good people and file charges if they suffer at the hand of someone else.
Please read the story on Page One of today's Clarksdale Press Register. There are too many Mr. Jones’ in Clarksdale and we need to let the world know certain behavior will not be tolerated in this town.
We need to back our police when they get tough on bad boys.
Here’s my quote: “The first Bible verse I learned as a child was ‘God is love,’ but as I grew older I learned He is also a God of judgment and there is a price that must be paid when we break His laws.”
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He was an angry young man at one time, has taken his share of punches and has moved on. Call him at 662-627-2201 when you take a bad lick and he will try to help you, just like others in this town have tried to help him.
