The violence continues in Clarksdale and Coahoma County with a man shot at a major county intersection north of Clarksdale and in a separate incident police blocking off city streets after shots were fired followed by a police chase.
Dustin Patton, 41, was found shot in his truck near Friars Point Road and Highway 1 Tuesday night, and transported to a Memphis hospital by helicopter in critical condition.
Coahoma County Sheriff Mario Magsby said the incident is under intense investigation and the community is being urged to help authorities find and arrest the person or persons responsible.
“We got the call about 11 p.m. that there was a truck in a field and when we arrived we found a 41-year-old white male had been shot,” said Magsby. “Apparently a number of shots were fired.”
No arrest had been made as of Friday afternoon and Magsby said Wednesday afternoon an exact motive had not been determined.
Patton apparently got an alert on his cell phone about 9 p.m., that an irrigation pivot pump had stopped working and went to investigate. After about two hours his wife tried to contact him by phone and noticed his phone had not moved in that time.
She contacted a friend who went to investigate and authorities were dispatched to the scene along with ambulances.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about this investigation but two sources close to the incident said Patton’s vehicle was hit by gunfire at least 15 times and one of those rounds entered the back glass, went through the headrest and struck Patton.
Patton was still on life support in Memphis as of Friday afternoon.
The two sources said Patton still had cash in his wallet, an un-fired pistol and laptop computer in his vehicle and several thousand dollars of tools and farm equipment in the back of his farm truck that could rule out robbery as a motive.
What sparked the incident that has shocked farm families across the Mississippi Delta is not known.
It appears Patton was ambushed near the intersection and rolled a short distance off the road. He was more than two miles from the pivot he was called to repair.
Authorities allegedly recovered shell casings at the scene, but how many guns where used and their caliber has not been revealed.
Patton has a wife and four children and has worked in Coahoma County for about 15 years. He is a native of Arkansas and people who know him say he was a solid family man and hard worker who was easy to get along with.
Friars Point is a community of about 900 people and has a history of gang violence.
Most recently a 10-year-old was shot and killed on Christmas Eve in Friars Point as he rode in a borrowed car with a female family member. It is believed the shooter thought a rival gang-member was in that car.
That was followed by a high-speed motor chase between residents that resulted in a violent accident that injured one and killed two others on Dog Bog Road.
Charles Jones was the sheriff at the time of this murder and released little information about this murder or accident.
The Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department is now under the direction of Magsby, who offered a $2,500 reward for information about that crime upon taking office in January.
Friars Point also saw the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department issue a shooter warning on Wednesday night July 17 after shots were again reported in the vicinity of Highway 1 and Friars Point Road.
Magsby urged anyone with any information, or who may have been driving in the area at the time, or who know gang members in the community to call the Coahoma County Sheriff’s office at 662-624-2411.
Mississippi law says anyone who has information about this crime and fails to report it to law enforcement can be charged with aiding and abetting and can be convicted as accomplice, facing the same penalty as the shooter.
City police respond to shots fired
The Clarksdale Police Department was mustered out in force after a report of shots fired saw officers pull over a vehicle and the occupants bail out of the care near Greenbough Nursing Home Friday afternoon.
“It was apparently some young people and I saw them when they jumped out of the car,” said a resident of Alida Street, who asked not to be identified. “They took off running holding their pants up.”
Police were dispatched to a shots fired call at about 3 p.m. Friday, July 12 in the 800 block of Lincoln Street. Police were told two male subjects were firing a gun at a white vehicle that appeared to be an Infiniti.
“A white Infiniti vehicle fitting the description was located in the area of State and Desoto Streets by officers,” Clarksdale police said in a statement. “When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled. After a lengthy chase throughout the city and the county, the driver crashed the vehicle at Florence and Emily Streets in the city limits.
“Three male subjects ran from the vehicle and they were captured by Clarksdale Officers, Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries Officers, and Coahoma County Deputies,” the statement continued. “The three men were located in different locations in the Greenbough area.
Earltravious Williams, 26, and Edward Lewis, 24, both of Clarksdale, were charged with Receiving Stolen Property and Felony Fleeing.
The 2017 Infiniti Q50 was reported stolen out of Marion, Ark., on June 25, 2024.
Police said the Coahoma County Sheriff's office brought in drones to help locate the subjects. Citizens in the area also provide information to law enforcement as they searched for the suspects.
Police clarified they didn’t locate the Infiniti that was reported in the 800 block of Lincoln Street that was suspected of being involved in the shooting.
Businesses in the area were notified by law enforcement to shelter in place. Homeowners in the area saw the heavy police presence and stayed clear.
