Three people were bound over from Eupora Municipal Court last week to await grand jury action on felony charges.
Prishon Wofford of Maben had a preliminary hearing on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Although 17, he is charged as an adult in the Dec. 18 shooting of Bronzeman Watson in the parking lot of Early Grove Apartments on Highway 9 North.
Wofford was represented by Webster County Public Defender Stephanie Mallette. Officer Tyler Bierdeman of the Eupora Police Department, the first officer on the scene, was the only person who testified.
Bierdeman was first questioned by city Prosecutor Tina Scott. The officer said when he arrived after being dispatched to the 7 p.m. shooting, Watson was holding a towel over his face, bleeding from a gunshot wound. Bierdeman, who took Watson directly to the emergency room in his patrol car, said when he asked Wofford who shot him, he replied, “Prishon.” Watson was later transferred to a hospital in Jackson.
A 9mm shell casing was found in a parking space, according to Bierdeman. He said further investigation identified the shooter as Wofford, who was not at the scene and could not be located. Bierdeman said he was later notified that Wofford was at his mother’s house in Maben (Harpole Street) and that Oktibbeha County deputies were on the way to arrest him.
He was taken into custody there around 4 a.m., turned over to Eupora officers in Maben and brought to the Webster County Jail. Bierdeman said another juvenile who was with Wofford but not involved in the actual shooting was not charged and was taken to his mother’s residence in Starkville.
Mallette then questioned Bierdeman. He told her the victim is from Kosciusko but was visiting family at the apartment complex, and had been riding in a car with another man.
The officer said the incident started as a verbal altercation on Highway 9 between cousins Watson and Wofford, the other juvenile and another individual who isn’t from Webster County. The latter was brought to the police station and gave a statement, but wasn’t charged.
Bierdeman related, in summary, that Watson said Wofford, who was on foot, flagged him and his companion down when they were on the way to a store. Watson, according to the officer, claimed Wofford said, “We’re gonna beat your tail” and told the victim they’d meet him at the apartments. Watson and the man he was riding with then went to the store before going to the apartments and both exited the car.
Watson told the officer a confrontation did occur and three males began pistol-whipping him with a gun Wofford was pointing at him. Bierdeman also said Watson stated he grabbed the barrel at one point. The man who was with Wofford had started walking away when the fight started and said he heard a gunshot but did not see anything, according to Bierdeman.
When Mallette implied that any one of three people could have shot Wofford, Bierdeman said the victim stated Wofford did so. Under redirect from Scott, the officer said Watson never indicated that anyone other than Wofford had a gun in his hand.
Bierdeman said Watson was shot in the right temple and was later released from the hospital after a steel plate was put in his head. The officer said follow-up surgery is scheduled.
Municipal Judge Buchanan Meek Jr. found that adequate probable cause existed to bind Wofford over to the action of the grand jury. He ordered him to appear in Webster County Circuit Court, which met Monday at the Choctaw County Courthouse. Meek continued bond at $100,000 and Wofford remained in the Webster County Jail as of Monday. Jail records show the Sheriff’s Department charged Wofford with contraband in a jail facility on Friday, with a bond of $5,000 on that charge.
Meth charges
Two other men were bound over on charges of felony possession of meth, both unrelated.
They included Elton Neal Gordon, 27, who was arrested Dec. 4 and had a preliminary hearing. He was represented by city Public Defender Jay Hurdle; Officer Brandon Chaille was the only witness to testify. Meek continued Gordon’s bond at $1,000 and he remained in jail as of Monday.
Mickey Vaughn, 50, who was arrested Jan. 7, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He was released from jail the night of Jan. 8 on a $3,000 bond.
