Scott County murder suspect thought to have robbed Woodville Subway

Published 8:43 pm Monday, January 1, 2024

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NATCHEZ — A man wanted for the murder of an elderly woman in Scott County and the setting of her body on fire is thought by law enforcement to have robbed a restaurant in Woodville on Sunday afternoon.

Woodville Police Chief Lemuel Rutledge said his office got the 9-1-1 call at 2:57 p.m. reporting the robbery at the Woodville Subway. The armed robbery took place at 2:50 p.m.

“No one was hurt during the robbery, but the clerk was shaken,” Rutledge said.

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The suspect displayed two handguns during the robbery. He demanded one of the employees give him the keys to her car, but she refused, Rutledge said.

He left with the money taken during the robbery, but no vehicle.

Rutledge was able to secure video and still photos of the suspect from a stop he made at the Shell gas station in Woodville, located next to the Subway.

“We want to warn everyone he is in our area and is armed with two handguns and is considered extremely dangerous,” Rutledge said.

The suspect is driving a two-door dark colored Ford Ranger. That vehicle was reported stolen on Old Highway 21 in Forrest County and has a disabled tag with number DBW5119.

After the robbery, Rutledge sent the suspect’s photo to other area law enforcement agencies, including Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten.

“I immediately reached out to two sheriffs in our area — Claiborne County Sheriff Edward Good and Jefferson County Sheriff James Bailey. We started talking, and Sheriff Good said he felt like he had seen the suspect’s photo recently. He said, ‘I think this is the man they are looking for in the murder of the elderly woman in Scott County.’ I Googled that news story and compared the suspect’s picture with the picture of the suspect in Woodville, and they are the same person,” Patten said.

Patten then sent the photo and video from the Woodville robbery to law enforcement officials in Scott County, who confirmed they are one in the same.

“They immediately called me and said this is our man,” he said.

Scott County officials sent Patten the suspect’s driver’s license photo, further confirming the identity.

“We need residents to be aware this man is in our area,” Patten said. “We ask our residents to be on the lookout for this truck and this man, but at no point should you approach him. He is armed and is extremely dangerous. At this point, he has nothing to lose. We want our citizens to know he could be in our area.”

Scott County law enforcement officials have identified the man as Sammy Patrick and when captured, expect to charge him with capital murder.

They suspect him of shooting and killing the woman on Saturday at about 2 p.m. in the 3000 block of Old Jackson Road.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for any information that leads to Patrick’s arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 911, the sheriff said.

“His MO is he steals vehicles and drives them until they run out of gas and then leaves them on the side of the road,” Patten said. “I want residents to pay close attention to their vehicles or any security lights popping on, just in case he has made it to our area. We need to do our due diligence here in Adams County.”