Natchez shooting sends two to hospital

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 17, 2006

natchez &8212; A shooting incident at a Martin Luther King Road deli Wednesday afternoon sent two men to the hospital and two others to jail.

Adams County Sheriff&8217;s deputies got a call from M&M Grocery and Deli about a shooting at 3:50 p.m. Deputy Frank Smith arrived on the scene to find Tremaine Proby, 27, behind the deli building with a gunshot wound to his left knee.

Proby told the deputy he had been shot by Terry Woods, who had driven off in a black Chrysler.

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Chief Deputy Charles Sims heard the information over dispatch and relayed that he was currently following the vehicle.

The car turned into Ram Circle Drive and stopped before speeding off into a U-turn. Sims called for backup and then made a &8220;felony stop&8221; whereby he blocked the Chrysler&8217;s exit, drew his gun and forced the passengers from the Chrysler at 3:56.

Deputies found crack cocaine, Xanax tablets and rifle and handgun bullets in the car. No weapons were recovered.

&8220;That&8217;s the only bad part about it, we made the arrest in six minutes but didn&8217;t get a gun off the street,&8221; Sheriff Ronny Brown said.

Woods, 30, of 1 Flower Road was arrested along with Antonio Dawson. After fleeing the scene alone, Woods allegedly stopped at Dawson&8217;s house and picked him up.

Meanwhile, officers were responding to a report of a one-car accident near the middle school on Lynda Lee Drive.

The white Ford Explorer was being driven by Jason Fulton, who crashed as the result of a gunshot wound to his right thigh.

Fulton and Proby had arrived at the store together. After being shot, Fulton attempted to drive himself to the hospital before crashing.

Fulton was taken to Natchez Regional Hospital; Proby was taken to Natchez Community Hospital.

Brown said Woods, Proby and Fulton were &8220;all very familiar to law enforcement,&8221; and that bystanders&8217; information helped the process.

&8220;We want to give thanks to the people at all three scenes for working with the officers.&8221;

Brown said his department keeps a close eye on areas where groups congregate in an effort to stay on top of the drug problem.

&8220;We try to keep it broken up, and if people will keep working with us, we&8217;ll do it.&8221;

Woods was charged with felony possession of a Schedule II narcotic with intent to distribute, misdemeanor possession of a Schedule IV narcotic (Xanax), two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting firearms into an occupied dwelling of business. His bond was set at $176,000 at a Thursday morning bond hearing.

He arranged with the court to have an indigent defender. Tom Cotton assigned him.

Woods&8217; arrest sheet lists &8220;Killer Joe&8221; as an alias.

He was also wanted on two bench warrants for contempt for failing to appear in court.

Dawson, 22, of 19 Vaughan Drive, was charged with one count of possession of a Schedule II narcotic with intent to distribute. His bond was set at $20,000.

Dawson had no prior record of arrest.

His mother, Verine Dawson, said she didn&8217;t sleep Wednesday night while her son was in jail.

&8220;He hasn&8217;t been in trouble before, he doesn&8217;t get in any trouble, no.&8221;

He posted bond and was released Thursday afternoon. Judge Charlie Vess imposed a 10 p.m. curfew and told Dawson not to associate with any known criminals.

&8220;I told him he better be mindful of who he gets in the car with,&8221; his mother said.

&8220;You never know what they&8217;re going to have in the car with them, and they can arrest them and put it on you.&8221;

Natchez Police Department officers assisted on the scenes of both the Ram Circle arrest and the Lynda Lee Drive accident.