Breakthrough cracks cold case 35 years later
The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 55-year-old Glenda Armstrong of Bruce.
CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – In February of 1989, James “Hippie” Webster was stabbed to death outside of what was then a nightclub called “Baldies”.
There’s nothing to mark where the club once stood, and for years there was almost nothing new in the case.
That changed this week when the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 55-year-old Glenda Armstrong of Bruce.
So, what brought this case back to the table?
“About 10 months ago, we were in court one day, and a gentleman walked up to us and said, ‘I need to talk to you guys for a moment.’So, I and my chief deputy walked in and he started giving us information,” said Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan. “He said, ‘All these years, I’ve known this and I didn’t come forward. It’s time and I want to help y’all solve this.'”
It became a cold case, and with changes in administration at the sheriff’s office, and the Bruce Police Department moving to a new building, it had been largely forgotten, and even the file had been misplaced.
“We had to start from scratch. There wasn’t one piece of paper with any information on it,” Pollan said.
Chief Deputy Dean Poynor and Deputy Wayne Plunk worked to track down witnesses, and all the the vital information to take to the district attorney.
“We had to go out and find it, there was nothing here,” Pollan said.
Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan says once people started talking, the stories began to align and they were able to narrow their focus.
Since the news broke, the phone has been ringing off the hook with more people coming forward with information.
“We’ve had several phone calls and text messages, and my deputy’s phone has been going crazy since the announcement,” Pollan said. “Everyone has confirmed what we have been told and what we have documented.”
35 years ago, people were very tight-lipped about this case. But it only took one person speaking up to crack it.
“This gentleman, I guess you could say it was clearing of the conscience after all this time,” Pollan said.”He knew the family and wanted the family to be able to get some closure from it. It was an emotional day for us, and it was most definitely an emotional day for the family.”
This case emphasizes the importance of the phrase, “If you know something, say something.”
“If you know it, tell it,” Pollan said. “It’s vital that we have that connection with the community and they help us. Sometimes it only takes one small piece, like in this case here. Once the gentleman came forward, it just fell in place. It was like dominos after that.”
Armstrong has been charged with murder and was denied bond.
The case goes before the Grand Jury in October.
