Tishomingo MDOC Agent Recognized

TISHOMINGO COUNTY, Miss. (Press Release) – A probation and parole agent instrumental in the arrest of a probationer accused of making a threat against the Tishomingo High School in October is among the employees being recognized by the Mississippi Department of Corrections this month.

Agent Eric Harris and fellow officers at the Tishomingo County Probation and Parole office received a phone call on Oct. 6 informing them that offender Japeth Wilson, MDOC# 190376, had left a message on his mother’s phone, threatening to shoot up the Tishomingo County High School and harm himself.

Harris and other officers immediately went to the school. The school was placed on lockdown. Officers assisted the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and local law enforcement with securing the campus.

They made sure the children stayed in their classrooms, provided escorts to the bathrooms, helped provide reassurance to keep everyone calm, made sure everyone was accounted for, and served lunch.

Officers soon were alerted that Wilson, then 19, was at a health facility attempting to turn himself in. Highway Patrol officers arrested an armed Wilson without incident.

“The actions of agent Eric Harris and the other agents involved are commendable,” Commissioner Marshall Fisher said. “This demonstrates that when officers leave their homes on a daily basis they report for duty with no idea of the dangers they may encounter. Mississippi is blessed to have men and women of their caliber. We are proud of Agent Harris’ contributions to public safety and the people of Mississippi.”

Harris, who has been with MDOC for nearly six years, is originally from Iuka. Before joining the agency, he worked for four years as an officer at the Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Department.

Though he is honored to receive the Heroism Award during the Employees Recognition Program last week at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, Harris said, he was just doing his job.

“I didn’t do anything above and beyond what I would do in my normal duties,” Harris said. “This is my job. I appreciate that MDOC thought to give me this award but I just did my job. Each one of us knows what we’re getting into every morning when we wake up, put on the badge and gun and come to the office to work. We know that we have to respond to dangerous situations.”

Harris, then-MDOC Agent Melinda Whited, who no longer works at MDOC, Mississippi Highway Patrol, the city of Iuka and Tishomingo County Sheriff’s deputies, and the school campus police officers all worked together that day until Wilson was taken into custody.

Wilson has two convictions, one in Alcorn County for burglary of a dwelling and one in Tishomingo County for burglary of vehicle. He initially received suspended sentences when he was placed on probation. After his arrest in October, his probation was revoked and he was given 16 years to serve and five years’ probation for the burglar of an unoccupied dwelling in Alcorn County.