Columbus man out on parole arrested after domestic altercation

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A man out on parole was arrested Thursday after he allegedly knocked his girlfriend to the ground and fled into the woods behind an East Columbus shopping center.

Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton says his officers were called to the scene in the 900 block of Alabama street just after 11 AM.

Investigators say that is where Christopher Tedford got into a fight with his girlfriend. CPD says Tedford and his girlfriend were arguing and that the woman’s grandmother was trying to break it up.

“At that point, the boyfriend pushed the female, who was driving, from the car. The grandmother was then holding onto the car and was dragged for a short distance,” Chief Shelton said in a statement. “The boyfriend then wrecked the car and fled on foot. He called 911 and claimed he was lost in a ditch. He was trying to throw off our search.”

Chief Shelton says they found the girlfriend lying on the ground when they arrived and both she and her grandmother were treated at the scene.

CPD told WCBI that the 23-year-old Tedford crashed into a dumpster and ran off into the woods. Chief Shelton says they likely would have been searching for him all day if he hadn’t been wearing an ankle monitor.

“We were able to locate the vehicle behind the store. Yes. And then we were able to track down the suspect,” said Chief Shelton. “We did find out that the suspect had on an ankle monitor, which means that he was from the (Mississippi Department of Corrections). “We called MDOC and they were able to locate him with the GPS on his ankle bracelet, and thus we located him at the Marvin’s store.”

Tedford was found hiding on a shelf inside the Marvin’s.

Tedford is charged with domestic violence and violating parole and Chief Shelton says other charges could follow. He was on parole for a conviction of Grand Larceny.