The small alleyway that stretches about 40 yards between Hope Village Thrift Store on Eighth Street and the Jubilee Mennonite Church on 28th Avenue is different than most.
For starters, it's one of the cleaner lanes in central Meridian. The normal trash that might be found in other alleys — soda cans, fast food bags, and cigarette butts — is virtually nonexistent. It's also fairly noisy. On Tuesday, the roar of a nearby lawnmower and the constant flow of cars on Eighth Street filled the alley. Despite the sounds of routine life, the alley's unexposed location provides a sense of protection.
In between the dark-brown painted concrete wall of a business facing Eighth Street and the wire fence is a cubbyhole — slightly wider than the width of an average man's shoulders. The dirt provides a relatively cool place to nap away an afternoon — especially for someone without a home.
But despite the relative attractiveness the alley may have for someone who is homeless, it is still no place to live. Even more, it's a lonely place to die.
That cubbyhole in downtown Meridian is where one 52-year-old man took his last breath sometime Sunday night.
A death investigation was launched early Tuesday morning when patrolmen with the Meridian Police Department were called to the alley after a passerby found the unidentified homeless drifter unresponsive. Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said the man died Sunday night. Detectives with the MPD were called in to process the scene. The body of the deceased was transported to Jackson for an autopsy. Some early reports showed the man might have once lived in the Hickory area. Cobler said the initial report from medical examiners should arrive sometime today or Thursday at the latest.
"I'm not going to speculate as to the cause of death until we get the preliminary report back," Cobler said Tuesday morning. "I have my suspicions but I'll keep that under my hat for now until we know for sure."
Capt. James Sharpe, commander of the MPD's Investigative Division, said detectives have processed the scene and are preparing to send some physical items to the Mississippi State Crime Lab.
Sharpe said an employee of one of the Meridian hospitals who routinely travels the alley to work discovered the body.
"At about 7 a.m. Monday the passerby noticed the body lying in the little space between the fence and the concrete wall," Sharpe said. "When he came back through Tuesday morning he realized the body hadn't moved. That is when he suspected something may be wrong and called 911 who then dispatched patrolmen to the location."
Local News
Homeless man found dead in alley
Scene sheds light on tragic drama of man's final resting place
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City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
Team Spirit
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High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
Master Dance Class
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Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
Inmate escapes custody
Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
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