Bond has been denied pending trial for a man accused of firing a gun near the Eupora High School campus.
A federal grand jury indicted Cole Breazeale last month on charges of possession of an unregistered weapon, discharging and possessing a firearm in a school zone, and possessing a firearm as a current drug user.
He entered a plea of not guilty during an arraignment and detention hearing May 29 in federal court in Oxford. U.S. Magistrate Judge Roy Percy granted the government’s motion for detention pending trial because of the “nature and circumstances of alleged offense, and nature and seriousness of danger to others or the community.”
Percy remanded Breazeale to custody of the U.S Marshals Service. He was already being held in the Lafayette County Detention Center without bond since his initial appearance May 21.
Trial is set for 9:40 a.m. July 9 before U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in Oxford. The defendant is represented by Grenada attorney Kevin Horan. Breazeale, 19, also awaits Webster County grand jury action on state charges of drive-by shooting and possession of a stolen firearm, which is not the one used in the shooting.
He is accused of firing multiple shots toward EHS from a dirt bike on West Clark Street after first riding it onto the band practice field March 28. No one was injured
Reward offered
for handgun info
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in conjunction with the Webster County Sheriff's Department and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information about or the location of the firearm used in the shooting.
The firearm is a 9mm handgun, according to the reward notice posted Friday on social media by the Sheriff’s Department. Law enforcement officers recovered six spent 9mm shell casings at the scene.
Anyone with information may call the Sheriff’s Department at 258-7701. You do not have to give your name.
Breazeale, according to the federal affidavit filed against him, told authorities he disposed of the handgun in a creek off Cummings Road. Law enforcement searched the creek but could not locate the handgun, the document states.
Situation could
have been tragic
Crime reporter Therese Apel of The Clarion-Ledger reported Thursday that authorities say there was a motive for the incident at Eupora High, but for the sake of prosecution, they can't elaborate.
"We're glad he didn't actually go into the school, but he shot in the school zone, which is very dangerous, and someone could have been hit," Eupora Police Chief Gregg Hunter told Apel.
Apel wrote that Breazeale, a former student at EHS, did not post anything on social media that would immediately alert people to any threat he might be to the school.
"There were no threats we were able to see via social media, but we're conducting an investigation into his social media on some things that we found after the fact," Joseph Frank, resident agent in charge of the ATF Bureau, said in the article.
According to the criminal complaint, Breazeale admitted to smoking marijuana at least three times a day since 2015 and also admitted to being a frequent methamphetamine user.
Apel reported that authorities said while they are grateful the situation was not an active shooter situation, it still could have been tragic.
"By the grace of God no one got hurt," Frank said.
