Man charged in motel murder held without bail

Published 9:27 am Wednesday, September 16, 2015

A Vicksburg man charged with murder in the shooting death of another man Saturday at the Battlefield Inn is being held without bail in the Warren County Jail after an initial appearance Tuesday in Vicksburg Municipal Court.

Municipal Judge Toni Walker Terrett declined to set bail for Jimmy Dale Reid on the murder charge because there was a “hold” on him by the Mississippi Department of Corrections for parole violation. According to Department of corrections’ records, Reid was paroled Sept. 7 after serving less than a year for an Oct. 2014 conviction in Warren County for fleeing a police officer and failed to report to his parole officer.

Shackled and clad in an orange jail jumpsuit and showing a tattoo of carnival masks and barbed wire on his right arm and a bandaged bullet wound on his left, Reid, 38, 1748 Miss. 27, spoke very little except to answer the judge’s questions.

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Terrett set bail on a companion charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon at $25,000.

Reid is accused of shooting Richard “Richy” May Jr., 34, who worked as a pilot for Warren County’s Kings Point Ferry, inside a room at Battlefield Inn, 4137 N. Frontage Road about 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Reid was arrested about 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the wood line of an area between the motel and Vicksburg National Military Park. Police Chief Walter Armstrong said the shooting was the result of an argument that erupted after two rooms were rented at the motel, apparently for a party.

Crystal methamphetamine and weapons were seized in both rooms, he said.

It was unclear if the weapon thought to be used to kill May was recovered.

Reid had been shot in the arm during the argument and was taken to a hospital before being taken to jail, Armstrong said.

The chief added Reid had spent a long time in prison. According to MDOC records, Reid had been in prison six times before his 2014 conviction on a variety of charges, including an uttering forgery conviction in 1994, drug charges, building and vehicle burglaries and vehicle theft.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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