Student perishes in car accident

An early morning traffic accident in Tupelo claimed two lives on Saturday, including one Ole Miss student.

Julius Dozier, a 20-year-old junior, and Adrian Cannon, 19, both from New Albany, died in the accident, which occurred at the intersection of Coley Road and McCullough Blvd. at around midnight on Sat., May 24.

According to the Daily Journal, four others were injured in the wreck, including two children.

Be sure to read Tuesday's edition of the Daily Mississippian for more information.

Small earthquake shakes parts of northeast Mississippi

A minor earthquake caught many northeast Mississippi residents by surprise Saturday afternoon.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed that a 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck the area at 12:52 p.m. The earthquake was epicentered near Sherman, Miss., a small community located approximately ten miles west of Tupelo.

Preliminary reports indicate that the small quake was felt in Lee, Pontotoc, and Union counties. No damage has been reported.

Just two days prior on May 8, a tornado caused significant damage in the western and northern parts of Tupelo.

The epicenter of Saturday's quake is only a few miles from where Thursday's tornado was first spotted.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Did you feel the quake? Leave a comment and tell us if you or anyone you know felt the shaking.

What really happened?

When Judge Henry Lackey testified about how he helped catch the Scruggs bribe conspirators he said, before going to the Federal government, he went to Lon Stallings local assistant District Attorney for advice.

During Lackey's testimony he said he did not go to Hood after Stallings told him Hood said Richard Scruggs and former AG Mike Moore threatened Hood not to proceed with a criminal investigation into State Farm over Hurricane Katrina. They threatened to fund and support a new candidate for attorney general, Lackey said.

Moore was in the courtroom when Lackey testified and said he had to do a "double take" when he heard Lackey say that. Moore, attorney for Zach Scruggs had sent his investigator Bill East to talk to Stallings about when Lackey reported the bribe, but Stallings did not tell East about how Hood had been threatened, both Moore and Stallings said.

Stallings added he did not know East was working with Moore.

Moore took that to mean Stallings never said that to Lackey. However Stallings did tell Lackey (when they met) he thought Hood was being threatened.

An email sent by Lee Martin, an attorney in Moore's office, to Moore during Tuesday's hearing says "I talked to Bill, and Lon Stallings did not say anything about such a conversation with Hood or Lackey. During Lackey's conversation with Lon - Lon suggested they get the Attorney General’s office involved."


Stallings did suggest that Lackey get "wired up" by Roger Cribbs, an investigator for Hood, but Lackey said he did not trust anyone from Hood's office, because he was too close with Scruggs and Moore, Stallings said they might not be as close as you'd think. This is when Stallings told Lackey about Hood being threatened.

Stallings, after speaking with Hood, felt that Moore and Scruggs had threatened to back a different candidate for attorney general, Stallings said.

Lackey decided to go to The Federal government to avoid Hood.

After investigating, the FBI caught Tim Balducci on tape bribing Lackey and eventually got all 5 co-conspirators to plead guilty.

Lackey's testimony came during a hearing about the case the conspirators tried to bribe him over.

The North East Mississippi Journal (Daily Journal) reported that Stallings sent a text message to Moore during court Tuesday. The message said Lackey was not telling the truth. The reporter was actually looking at the email sent by Martin to Moore and mistakenly thought it was from Stallings, Moore said.

Stallings was offended by the false reports, saying "The judge is not a liar." Stallings and Lackey know each other from Calhoun City and Stallings worried these reports might be seen by "the folks" back home.

Moore "categorically" denied ever threatening Hood.

"If anyone ever suggested to me they were going to run anyone against Hood I would have been on the other side (with Hood)," Moore said.

Video from box-cutter brawl posted on YouTube

A video from the scene of the student knifing in the Circle surfaced on YouTube earlier today. The video looks like it was taken from a cell phone camera and the quality is very low. The video was not taken by a member of The Daily Mississippian staff.

Final defandent in bribery overture pleads guilty

Zach Scruggs pleaded guilty Friday morning to a one count felony. The government dismissed the conspiracy charges against him and agreed to charge him only with misprision of a felony.

Scruggs' plea comes one week after his father Richard "Dickie" Scruggs pleaded guilty to charges of trying to bribe circuit judge Henry Lackey. Three others have also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charges.

Scruggs pleaded guilty to having knowledge there was unlawful contact with Lackey to obtain a favorable ruling. According to the new charges against him, he was not directly involved with the conspiracy but should have reported the illegal contact to the authorities.

The maximum sentence Scruggs could receive is three years. However, prosecutors have asked for a probated sentence, where Scruggs would be on probation and have to pay the fine. The final sentence is up to the judge, who did not set a date for the sentencing.

With his attorneys, former Miss. Attorney General Mike Moore and Todd Graves, Scruggs made a statement about his actions:

"No one is more sorry that I under the circumstances. I had no knowledge that Tim Balducci bribed Judge Lackey to obtain the order. I would have reported that if I had known. I did know about Balducci’s relationship with Judge Lackey and the improper contacts. That did deprive the state of honest services. I should have reported that to my lawyer so that it could have been communicated to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, but I did not. I here accept full responsibility. The legal profession has high standards, not just a duty to not do ex parte contact but to prevent others from doing ex parte contact. I hope that the Miss. bar will gain from my mistake."

Scruggs, 33, graduated from the Ole Miss law School.

Law School removes Scruggs from campaign

The new University of Mississippi law school's fundraising campaign Web site no longer list Dickie Scruggs as one of the co-chairmen of the fundraising committee, and they have also removed his name from a list of donors.

Additionally, the Dickie Scruggs classroom wing is no longer on a list of the new law school's named areas.

Chancellor Robert Khayat confirmed Tuesday that the Scruggses had requested his and his wife Dianne's names be removed from the Richard and Dianne Scruggs music hall building. The request will be considered Thursday by the Institutions for Higher Learning.

Scruggs pleaded guilty to bribing Lafayette County Circuit Judge Henry Lackey on Friday. Three others have also pleaded guilty.

Scruggs' son Zach Scruggs is the only remaining defendant and has spent the week adding lawyers to his defense team, suggesting he is prepping for trial. Like his father, Zach attended Ole Miss as an undergraduate and for law school.

The DM will be trying to contact both the dean of the law school and Khayat in order to get a better explanation.

Scruggs won close to one billion dollars suing big tobacco companies. He and his wife have donated millions to the university ever since.

Guess who's back...

Brother Micah Anderson, a preacher who often visits universities, has returned to the front of the Ole Miss Student Union to deliver his evangelistic message. Anderson was spotted preparing for his speech around 12 p.m., and by 12:50 p.m. a group of over 150 student had gathered to listen to and/or protest his words.

Anderson, seen in the file photo to the right, visited Ole Miss for a week at the end of March 2007. Click here for an audio slideshow of his visit last year and click here for a video interview by Newswatch's Tony Russell.

For coverage of Anderson's visit this year, check The DM Online later.

U.S. attorneys file new motion

Two U.S. attorneys from the Western District of Tennessee filed a motion concerning new evidence in the conspiracy involving Dick Scruggs. Because Zach Scruggs did not plead guilty to the bribe conspiracy the motion is to allow evidence against him.

After an FBI computer research team reviwed the files they decided there was eveidense against Scruggs and his co-conspirtors that related to his indictment. They sent duplicates of the evidence via Federal Express to the Scruggs defense team Thursday.

The evidence was acquired during the Nov. 27 search of the Scruggs Law Firm, court documents show.

The motion is to allow prosecutors against Scruggs to have access to the files.

Scruggs' attorney John Keker began talking about a plea agreement Thursday with the government, U.S. attorney Bob Norman said. Whether the new evidence caused Scrugss to plea Friday is unclear.

Also noteworthy developments not mentioned in earlier posts are the differences between Backstrom's plea agreement and Scruggs' plea agreement.

Backstrom has agreed to cooperate with prosecutor's for this or any other conspiracies. He may be required to testify in front of a grand jury or with any agents U.S. attorneys assign to interview him. Whereas there is no mention of Scruggs being required to assist the government with this or any other conspiracy.

Scruggs faces 5 years in jail and Backstrom could spend up to 2 1/2 years.

Governemnt witness against Scruggs Joey Langston pleaded guilty in January for attempting to bribe Judge Bobby DeLaughter on Scruggs' behalf. DeLaughter has not been charged, however he remains under investigation.

Talk among bloggers on a variety of websites continues to discuss if Dickie copped a deal in order to save his son Zach. There are no facts to support this claim.

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog is reporting Scruggs' brother-in-law former Senate Majority leader Trent Lott is under investigation to find out if he played a knowing role in the DeLaughter bribe. Langston's guilty plea shows he and former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters tried to use Scruggs connection with Lott to get Delaughter a federally appointed judgeship.

Check The DM news blog for any new developments in this ongoing saga.

Scruggs Update

I received a phone call from Barbra Lago at Ole Miss public relations right after speaking with Mr. Creekmore (see post below). For many of the questions regarding Scruggs and his involvement with the University she could not give any final answers.
-When asked if Dickie Scruggs name would remain on the music building she said "It's premature to talk about that now, requires pre-approval from the college Board." She added the board meets next week but the agenda has already been set making it unlikely they would discussed it then.
Lago directed me to Annie Mitchel with the college board to find out if they would add it to the agenda. Mitchel said it would only be on the agenda if a "request comes from the institution." She also said the final agenda for next weeks meeting would made available Tuesday, if its not on the agenda a request was not made.
After calling Ms. Lago and asking if a request was likely, she said she did not think so. Chacellor Kayhat and Gloria Kellum are out of town right now and might discuss it next week however, Ms. Lago was not sure.
-Again Lago responded it's "premature to talk about those things. A lot of people are away from campus right now. We can discuss that next week," when I asked her if Scruggs would remain on the fundraising committee for the new law school, or if the law school classroom slated to be named in his honor would remain.
-Lago could not comment on any donations made by Scruggs because the UM foundation is private and donors are to remain private, "we can't comment," Lago said. Scruggs pledged $1 million a year over 25 years to the Liberal Arts teacher foundation and has only paid $7 million, whether the school will continue to accept Scruggs money remains unclear.
Chancellor Kayhat made a direct statement about Dickie Scruggs.
"It's a very sad day in our lives. The Scruggses have been great supporters not only of the University but also many other worthy organizations and needy people. We are heavy hearted. The Scruggs family is in our heart."

Scruggs Update

Just got off the phone with Ben creekmore, the District Attorney for Lafayette County. He and I discussed how the Dickie Scruggs pleading will be handled at the local level after Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood deferred the case to Creekmore.
He began his statement, "Judge Lackey went to the Feds, which was the correct thing to do. We don't want to pile on top of federal charges,"
Creekmore went on to say state charges would be filed if "any unique state injuries come to light."
Creekmore said they didn't get involved with the current case against Scruggs because "I know the Feds...we didn't want to interfere."
"I do expect we'll talk to the US Attorney to see if there are any unique injuries," Creekmore ended his statement.

Scruggs Update: Plea agreement details

As part of a plea agreement, the government dropped the other four counts of wire fraud and the like, leaving Scruggs with a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Backstrom faces a maximum two and a half years in prison.

Sitting in his Porsche SUV outside his attorney's bed & breakfast The 512, Scruggs said he could not talk about the guilty plea.

There is still no word from the university on how they will handle the guilty plea.

More information will be available later.

Scruggs pleads guilty

High profile attorney Richard Dickie Scruggs pleaded guilty this morning at the federal courthouse in Oxford. In an emotional plea, Scruggs pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to bribe circuit judge Henry Lackey. Friends and family cried as Scruggs changed his plea from not guilty to guilty.

Scruggs is a large donor to the university, has a building bearing his name and is slated to have a classroom at the new law school named in his honor. He has also committed to pay $1 million a year for 25 years to the liberal arts school so teachers could have a raise. So far university officials have not commented on the guilty plea.

Sidney Backstrom, a Scruggs Law Firm attorney, also pleaded guilty, with tears in his eyes.

"I wish to apologize to the court ... and my family," Backstrom said.

Neither was immediately sentenced, but both were placed on probation and had to meet with an officer.

The conspiracy charges hold a maximum of five years in prison. A sentencing hearing has not been set.

Zach Scruggs, Richard Scruggs's son, did not plea to the charges against him. His trial is currently set for March 31.

Zach Scruggs's attorney Todd Graves said this is completely different trial now and is talking with the government about a continuance.

Continue to check The DM Newsblog for more about the events unfolding in Oxford. Also, check Monday's edition of The Daily Mississippian for the full story.

Chelsea Clinton visits Ole Miss to campaign for mother

Photos by Danny Klimetz

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton and presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), answered questions about her mother’s campaign and policy issues in front of a large crowd on the steps of the Student Union this morning.

Clinton answered questions on issues ranging from her mother’s universal healthcare plan to immigration reform, including education, crime prevention, alternative energy sources and the war in Iraq.

“I believe that there are differences in policy and in experience that matter in this election, and I would like to talk to you about those today,” Clinton said.

In response to a question about whether her mother could unify the nation, Clinton praised her mother’s willingness to reach across party boundaries but defended her stand on issues such as universal healthcare.

“That’s what I want in my president: I want somebody who can reach across party lines when able but also someone who will stand up for what’s right when necessary,” she said.

Clinton also referred to her mother’s universal healthcare plan as “the right thing to do—both morally and economically” and stated that her mother is endorsed by more generals and admirals than any other presidential candidate.

“I passionately believe that my mother would be the best president, and I passionately believe that she will be the most electable Democrat in November,” Clinton said.

College Democrat Jake McGraw, a sophomore public policy major, said he felt Clinton’s answers swayed some voters in the crowd.

“It’s obvious she (Clinton) gets her knowledge from her mother and her personal charm from her father. I think she convinced some people to vote for her mom just because of her,” McGraw said.

McGraw, who introduced Clinton, told the audience he already voted for Sen. Clinton by absentee ballot.

Freshman exercise science major Jeremy Locke, who described himself as skeptical of Sen.

Clinton’s campaign, said he remained unconvinced.

“Most of the things I heard were good ideas, but they were just that: ideas,” Locke said. “There’s no ‘how’ - no backing,” he said.

Sarah Dickey, a sophomore English major from Water Valley, described Clinton as articulate.

“I like what she had to say,” Dickey said. “I hadn’t formed my opinion before today, but I think now I have.

Clinton spoke at Ole Miss as part of her “HillBlazers” tour to universities across the U.S. to support her mother’s campaign.

Mississippi’s primary is Tuesday.

Grand Theft Auto comes to Oxford

Forty-six year old Abbeville resident Larry Gillom was arrested Friday after a patrol car pulled over the PT cruiser for reckless driving.

The report said Gillom was observed entering Highway 7 at University Ave. at high rate of speed. The officer followed the PT cruiser on to Hwy 278 and attempted to pull over the vehicle.

"The PT Cruiser failed to stop and began to flee from the officer," police chief Mike Martin said.

The PT Cruiser left Hwy. 278 and proceeded down Thacker Road. When the suspect reached the U-Haul Center on Thacker he ran away on foot.

After a short foot chase the police caught the suspect Gillom.

"While on the scene the officer was advised by dispatch that the PT Cruiser was just reported stolen from the Movie Gallery on University Ave," Martin said.

Gillom was arrested and charged with multiple crimes: reckless driving, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, failure to yield, driving with a suspended license, possession of marijuana, and grand larceny of an automobile.

As of 9 A.M. Monday morning Gillom was in Lafayette County Detention Center where he awaits a bond hearing/

MSU president resigns

Mississippi State University President Doc Foglesong unexpectedly resigned Friday after less than two academic years as leader of the university. His final day of work will be June 30.

In a prepared press statement, Foglesong, a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general, said: "With the express purpose of helping the university move forward, I have asked the commissioner of higher education that I be relieved as president not later than June 30, 2008."

Foglesong had recently received negative attention from some students, faculty and alumni for removing daffodils from the campus, not allowing architecture students to show their work in a window and for his lack of attendance at faculty senate meetings, among other things.

MSU will soon begin searching for a new president, the university's third in the last 10 years.

Scruggs Update: Jury to be anonymous

As students get ready for the beginning of Spring break Richard Dickie Scruggs will be here fighting bribery charges filed by the federal court.

In the latest round of motions and orders Scruggs, his son Zach and Sidney Backstrom have lost their appeal to stop an anonymous jury trial, a court order said.

“The court is of the opinion that the decision to not disclose the names and addresses of the jurors and their employers will not violate the defendants’ constitutional right to a fair trial before an impartial jury,” the order said.

The judges last paragraph explained what information will be available.

"...as the only information that will be withheld from the defendants and the governement will be jurors' names, addresses, and the places of employment - not types of employment. Otherwise, the court will provide the defendants and the government with a wealth of information about the jurors, including occupations, employers, children, length of residence in the counties in which they reside, their main sources of news, and an abundance of other information that will be brought on voir dire and the jury questionnaires."

U.S. District attorney also responded to claims by Zach Scruggs defense team alleging the prosecutors allowed “patently false” statement made by witnesses to be used by the grand jury to obtain an indictment.

“It is clear that the thrust of Balducci’s testimony concerned the fact that they paid Judge Lackey for the Order and needed to deliver additional ‘sweet potatoes,’” the response said.

"While Balducci described this additional payment and 'sweet potatoes,' nobody seriously contends they believed Balducci was taking potatoes to calhoun City."

District Attorney Tom Dawson feels there are other reasons behing Zach Scruggs motion to dismiss because of prosecutorial misconduct.

“The Court should not countenance gratuitously inflammatory motions that would only appear to be designed to influence the potential jury pool,” the response said.

The three defendants were charged in November for bribing Circuit Judge Henery Lackey in order to be granted a favorable ruling in a fee dispute case concerning a Hurricane Katrina settlement.

The trail is set for March 31.

2008 ASB election results

The 2008 Associated Student Body election results have been announced and are as follows:

Graham Purcell
President

Megan McRaney
Vice President

Josh Randle
Treasurer

Stewart Hood
Secretary

For more information, check tomorrow's issue of The Daily Mississippian.

Gov. Haley Barbour declares State of Emergency

According to a press release issued today by the Office of the Governor in Jackson, Gov. Haley Barbour has declared a State of Emergency following the severe weather and tornadoes that struck of Tues., Feb. 5. Alcorn, DeSoto and Lafayette counties were among those damaged in the storm.

Representatives from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency were deployed to assist the counties and make preliminary damage assessments. The Salvation Army, American Red Cross and other volunteer agencies also assisted in North Mississippi.

The State of Emergency allows state resources to be used in the areas most heavily damaged by the storm. It also gives emergency responders the authority to provide services to the storm victims quickly and efficiently.

For more information, check Thursday's edition of The Daily Mississippian.

Video: Damage in on Old Highway 7

Footage shot on Old Highway 7 on Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. by Senior Video Reporter Jessica Scanlon.

Video: Lafayette County damage

Video by Nathan Alber

Clean up continues in the aftermath of Tuesdays tornado

HAZMAT crews have all but finished their clean up job at the Caterpillar plant after a tornado ripped through the plant, destroying half the plant and causing chemical leaks. Currently, they are monitoring Caterpillar to make sure they have gotten everything and to ensure no new problems arise.

Tuesday's storms have resulted in nearly 52 deaths across the South, though there have been none reported in Lafayette County so far this afternoon. Thirteen people were admitted to Baptist Memorial due to the storms — two were listed as critical, however one has been moved up to stable, and the other patients have been released, Lloyd Oliphant, president of the Lafayette Board of Supervisors, said Wednesday.

The tornado tore through northeast Lafayette County, severly damaging dozens of homes in its path. Eighteen houses were deemed completly uninhabitable, Oliphant said.

Oliphant said last nights storms caused some people to be trapped inside there homes, but that search and rescue teams were able to get through the impediments and to the people out with only a few scratches. Search and rescue teams made sure to retrieve elderly and sick patients who required breathing or heart machines to stay alive, and all people in need made it to appropriate facilities, Oliphant said.

More updates will be posted on The DM Newsblog as they are available.

Funnel clouds touch down in Oxford; Caterpillar plant among the structures most affected

Photos by Joseph Warner for The Daily Mississippian

Damage reports are continuing to come in from around the Oxford area after severe weather ripped through the community Tuesday evening.

The Caterpillar plant located on County Road 1032, near the intersection of Highways 101 and 7 in Oxford, was partially destroyed when a funnel cloud touched down nearby. According to DM photographers on the scene, a number of police, fire and rescue vehicles were there to help evacuate at least 100 people from the site, which was declared a hazardous materials (HAZMAT) zone after a gas leak was discovered shortly after 6 p.m.

Calls came across the police scanner at the Student Media Center that indicated homes in the area – including a spot on County Road 291 – also had heavy damage, and crews were working on clearing debris in the surrounding roads just before 9 p.m.

Funnel cloud sightings were also reported in the College Hill Road area around 6 p.m., though reports of any damage there have yet to come in.

Power remains out in several locations around town, including Anderson and Anchorage Roads.

We'll keep you updated of the current weather conditions and damage throughout the night via this blog. In the meantime, check out TheDMonline.com for photos and listen to 92.1 Rebel Radio in the Oxford area for up-to-the-minute reports.

Classes cancelled tonight due to severe weather

According to an e-mail sent out by the University of Mississippi, classes are cancelled for the evening of Feb. 5. The e-mail reads:

"Due to severe weather conditions, classes are cancelled for Tuesday evening, Feb. 5. UM students and employees are urged to use extreme caution and to seek shelter immediately."

OPD arrest one in Subway robbery

The suspect in the December 20th armed robbery of Subway on University was arrested Monday. Forty year old Robert Sanders was picked up on a warrant issued by the Oxford Police Department, an OPD press release said Tuesday.

Sanders bond was set at $50,000.