An elderly Warren County couple was cheated out of $2,500 after receiving a call from a young woman claiming to be their granddaughter.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said the woman knew their granddaughter’s name and claimed to be in Canada, arrested on drug charges, in the phone call on March 10. After speaking with the couple, she referred them to a man claiming to be a Canadian law official.

The man told the couple they could send their “granddaughter’s” $2,500 bond to an address for an international bonding company in London, England, Pace said.

“After they had mailed the funds, they contacted their granddaughter who said she was in the States and had never been to Canada,” Pace said.

The sheriff said this was more elaborate than most scams because the address for the so-called company was an actual physical address.

He said most scams involve someone who calls claiming that a person has won a lottery and will have to pay a processing fee.

“It can happen to anyone, but most often to older people who tend to be more generous,” said Pace.

He said because Warren County officials do not have jurisdiction outside of the United States, the case was passed on to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

City man chased, charged in theft

One of the two suspects in the pistol-whipping and robbery of a Vicksburg man on Tuesday was arrested Thursday after a foot chase by police, and the second man has been identified.

David Hasty, 20, 631 Stenson Road, was stopped in a routine traffic stop at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Crawford and Clay streets, Lt. Bobby Stewart said. Hasty and several others jumped and ran from the car, and all were chased down nearby. The others were released without charges.

Hasty was charged with strong-arm robbery in the theft of $300 and a 9 mm handgun in the 100 block of Meadowbrook Drive from a man who required medical treatment before being released from River Region Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

The second robbery suspect has been identified, but Stewart declined to release his name.

Hasty was in the Issaquena County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

Robberies reported at KFC, on MLK

Two armed robberies were reported in the city Thursday and early this morning.

At 9:19 p.m. Thursday, employees at KFC, 2915 Clay St., reported that two men entered the restaurant after it had closed and demanded money at gunpoint, Lt. Bobby Stewart said.

The employees ran out the back door, and the manager locked herself in the office, Stewart said.

The robbers fled on foot without taking anything. No descriptions were available.

In the 2000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a man reported at 2:06 this morning that he was robbed at gunpoint by three men.

The victim told police he ran out his back door and hid in his backyard after three men, one described as black, 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, kicked in his front door and demanded money, Stewart said.

The victim said he was able to see the robbers flee in a 2009 Honda Accord, which was later discovered abandoned on Alpine Street, less than a mile away. The car had been reported missing since March 10 from the 13000 block of U.S. 61 South. Reported missing from the victim’s home were a purse containing $120 and an Xbox 360 game console valued at $300, which was recovered in the back seat of the car. No injuries were reported.

Convicted felon arrested for gun

A Vicksburg convicted felon was released from the Warren County Jail Thursday after being held on a weapons charge.

Otis Davis Jr., 25, 2709 Drummond St., was arrested at 3:20 p.m. Thursday near Main Street and Mission 66 after police received complaints of a man displaying a gun in the area, Lt. Bobby Stewart said.

Stewart said Davis was convicted of a burglary in 2005, in which he served time and probation.

Davis, accused Thursday of being a convicted felon with a weapon, was released on a $10,000 bond.

City woman jailed, held for drug court

A Vicksburg woman was in the Warren County jail this morning for a drug court sanction.

Jessica White, 18, 1239 Boy Scout Road, was arrested at 9 a.m. Thursday and held without bond.

County man picked up for La. authorities

A Warren County man was arrested at his home Thursday morning on a Madison Parish warrant for burglary.

Dustin D. Tilden, 27, 50 Bennett Road, has been extradited to Louisiana, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

No information on the burglary was available from Louisiana authorities.

One car stolen; two broken into

Two auto burglaries and an auto theft were reported in the city Thursday and today.

A Naxa MP3/CD player valued at $500 was reported missing at 7:05 a.m. from a vehicle in the 1100 block of Bowmar Avenue.

A Punch 300-watt amplifier valued at $300, a set of Punch speakers valued at $200 and a set of Sony Xplode speakers valued at $100 were reported missing at 4:50 p.m. from a 1998 Ford Contour in the 100 block of Pemberton Street.

A 2000 Oldsmobile Alero valued at $10,000, Mississippi tag WAG 617, was reported missing at 6:37 this morning from the parking lot of the Confederate Ridge Apartments on U.S. 61 North.