Local man remains in jail on attempted murder charge after shooting last Thursday in Richton
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EARWOOD
From Staff Reports
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A 29-year-old Richton man remains in police custody charged with attempted murder after a shooting incident in Richton last week.
Thomas Leon Earwood was taken into custody by local authorities at a residence off Eastside Drive last Friday. Earwood is being charged with attempted murder in connection to a shooting at 506 Cedar Street West in Richton on Thursday, June 15. Earwood is accused of shooting 54-year-old Reginald McDonald.
According to testimony given during an initial court appearance on Tuesday, Earwood is believed to have gone to the residence on Cedar Street to find out more about a separate altercation that left a friend of his seriously injured the day before. He reportedly approached McDonald outside the residence and the encounter between the two ended with McDonald suffering from a gunshot wound into his right eye. Testimony indicated that McDonald had previously shared a residence with Earwood’s friend who had been assaulted, but there was no indication from court proceedings that he was believed to be involved with that alleged assault.
McDonald was taken by ambulance to Perry County Hospital with the bullet still lodged in his head. He was transferred to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg before eventually being taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson due to the severity of his injuries. No update on his condition was available at press time Wednesday.
There were reportedly no eye witnesses to the shooting, but police were able to put together enough information from their investigation to tab Earwood as a potential suspect. According to testimony from Tuesday, police say Earwood admitted to the shooting, but said he did so in self-defense. He reportedly took police to a church north of Richton where he allegedly buried the weapon used in the shooting. The recovered weapon will have ballistics testing performed to determine if it was the gun used in the crime.
Earwood waived the right to a bond hearing, opting instead for initial hearing on Tuesday. After hearing the brief testimony, Justice Court Judge Tim Odom set bond for Earwood at $250,000. Earwood, however, was already out of jail on bond for a felony drug charge when he was arrested last week. He is likely to remain in police custody as last week’s arrest violated the terms of his previous bond.
Judge Odom ordered the case to be bound over to a Perry County Grand Jury for consideration.
