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Hernando, MS -
FAST FACTS:
dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Hernando, MS 10/19/2009) An unidentified DeSoto 17-year-old is said to be fighting for his life at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, after he and two friends were savagely beaten by three others wielding wooden and aluminum baseball bats.
It's created a lot of concern in the neighborhood in central DeSoto where the beatings occurred.
This quiet, rural corner of the County has become an epicenter of fear after the weekend beatings.
Parents say what they call "gang-style" violence has made the area unsafe. "It's not 1 on 1 anymore, it's 3 or 4 kids jumping kids and now we have a child that is in the hospital. They've got good parents and he's on life support and they don't know if he's gonna live." said one woman who was afraid to give her name.
We're told text messages late Saturday night led to a confrontation in the wee hours of Sunday morning at the intersection of Malone and Sunset, northeast of Hernando.
It ended with the brutal baseball bat beating of three teens whose screams terrified neighbors.
"3 young men were beaten, two ended up at Baptist DeSoto. All three went to Baptist DeSoto. Two remained but one was flown to The Med but they were full so they transported him over to LeBonheur and he's still in intensive care at LeBonheur at this time," said DeSoto Sheriff Bill Rasco.
Deputies arrested 4 people; one teenager, and 21-year-old Gregory Alan Jordan, 20 year old David Lee Jones, and his father 47 year old David Harrold Jones. "At least one of them has a previous criminal record, which is drug related," Rasco stated.
That's not all. Sheriff Rasco confirms at least member of the Jones family was also connected to a crime here at the Bridgetown Market just a few miles from the Jones house.
The victims in the baseball bat beatings are all teenagers, so authorities are withholding their identities. Two are said to have suffered relatively minor injuries while their 17 year old friend whose family does not want to talk, fights to recover.
Meantime the fear in the area keeps building until residents learn more about what triggered the incident. "I would just hate for something like this to happen to my own child," said another unidentified parent.
Sheriff Rasco reported late Monday, the critically injured victim had shown slight improvement, and that's good, even for the accused who could face capitol murder charges should that 17 year old victim take a turn for the worse.
- Text messages lead to confrontation
- Victims beaten with baseball bats
- 3 in hospital, one critical, 4 others in jail
dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Hernando, MS 10/19/2009) An unidentified DeSoto 17-year-old is said to be fighting for his life at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, after he and two friends were savagely beaten by three others wielding wooden and aluminum baseball bats.
It's created a lot of concern in the neighborhood in central DeSoto where the beatings occurred.
This quiet, rural corner of the County has become an epicenter of fear after the weekend beatings.
Parents say what they call "gang-style" violence has made the area unsafe. "It's not 1 on 1 anymore, it's 3 or 4 kids jumping kids and now we have a child that is in the hospital. They've got good parents and he's on life support and they don't know if he's gonna live." said one woman who was afraid to give her name.
We're told text messages late Saturday night led to a confrontation in the wee hours of Sunday morning at the intersection of Malone and Sunset, northeast of Hernando.
It ended with the brutal baseball bat beating of three teens whose screams terrified neighbors.
"3 young men were beaten, two ended up at Baptist DeSoto. All three went to Baptist DeSoto. Two remained but one was flown to The Med but they were full so they transported him over to LeBonheur and he's still in intensive care at LeBonheur at this time," said DeSoto Sheriff Bill Rasco.
Deputies arrested 4 people; one teenager, and 21-year-old Gregory Alan Jordan, 20 year old David Lee Jones, and his father 47 year old David Harrold Jones. "At least one of them has a previous criminal record, which is drug related," Rasco stated.
That's not all. Sheriff Rasco confirms at least member of the Jones family was also connected to a crime here at the Bridgetown Market just a few miles from the Jones house.
The victims in the baseball bat beatings are all teenagers, so authorities are withholding their identities. Two are said to have suffered relatively minor injuries while their 17 year old friend whose family does not want to talk, fights to recover.
Meantime the fear in the area keeps building until residents learn more about what triggered the incident. "I would just hate for something like this to happen to my own child," said another unidentified parent.
Sheriff Rasco reported late Monday, the critically injured victim had shown slight improvement, and that's good, even for the accused who could face capitol murder charges should that 17 year old victim take a turn for the worse.
