A driver who left the scene where a toddler was struck and killed will not be criminally charged, Warren County grand jurors decided Thursday.

District Attorney Gil Martin, who presented the case to the panel, agreed with the decision.

&#8220It just didn’t rise to the level of being a crime,” he said. &#8220Absent the use of alcohol or drugs, or extreme speed, it’s hard to prove manslaughter.”

Police reports said Joe Nathan Mitchell, 25, 170 Meadowbrook Drive, was charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence and leaving the scene of an accident after the July 16 death of 3-year-old David Lee Cotton.

The toddler was crossing the street to play in a neighbor’s yard at 8:17 p.m., the police report said, when he was hit by a 1983 Oldsmobile Royale Mitchell was driving.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy showed he died of head injuries.

There was no indication that Mitchell was speeding or impaired – just that he did not stop. Mitchell drove to his house, the police report said, then fled on foot through a wooded area adjacent to the neighborhood.

After an hour-long search that included help from the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and K-9 units from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, Mitchell was arrested at Dana Road and Pleasant Valley Drive after phoning an acquaintance in the neighborhood, who then notified police.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Bonner also agreed grand jurors did what was right. &#8220It’s about probable cause with the grand jury,” he said. &#8220It’s unlike a trial jury, which has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Otherwise, the October term may have set a record by declining to formally charge a total of 25 defendants whose cases were presented to their review.

Lack of evidence was to blame, Martin said.

&#8220It wasn’t anybody’s fault, but the evidence just wasn’t there,” he said. &#8220That’s a record number of no-bills.”

Typically, grand jurors return about five non-indictments in each of its four terms. But because of criticism from Vicksburg Police Chief Tommy Moffett that Martin was not aggressive enough, the district attorney presented more cases to this term, he said.

&#8220Usually, I remand the weak cases back to file,” Martin said. &#8220I decided this time to send them all to grand jury.”

In another higher-profile case, Joe G. Howard, 39, 1923 Baldwin Ferry Road, was arraigned on six counts of business burglary.

He had been accused of breaking into the Dermatology and Skin Cancer Clinic, Jones and Upchurch Real Estate, Firestone and Lee’s Body Shop, all since March 2005.

He was arrested Aug. 11 during a break-in at Jones and Upchurch at 1803 Clay St. From there, police obtained a warrant to search Howard’s home, where they found a television and VCR set and a satellite receiver they said was stolen from Lee’s Body Shop, along with checks believed stolen from Firestone Tire and Service Center a few blocks away on Clay Street earlier in the morning and other equipment.

Half of Howard’s six indictments were on burglaries at Dermatology and Skin Cancer Clinic.

Grand juries are composed of 18 to 21 county citizens selected from voter rolls. Among their roles is to review the prosecution’s evidence in felony criminal charges. At least 12 votes are needed for an indictment on a charge to be returned.

This week, the grand jury reviewed evidence in 113 cases, returning 94 indictments to be made public today.