Lauderdale County Sheriff Ward Calhoun speaks to media Thursday, May 16, at a press conference announcing several arrests.

The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday an arrest has been made after a body was reported in the 8200 block of King Road earlier in the week.

Sheriff Ward Calhoun said a 911 call around 6:15 a.m. Tuesday alerted deputies to the body, which was later identified as 54-year-old Eddie Floyd Bell.

“Based upon our initial investigation, we thought there was a high probability that the individual had been struck by a car in that area,” he said.

Deputies were assisted by the Mississippi Highway Patrol Criminal Investigation Bureau Crash Team’s accident reconstruction unit to gather evidence and get a better understanding of what had happened.

“As a result of their investigation, last night an individual was taken into custody and has been charged,” Calhoun said at a press conference announcing the arrest.

Lane McRae Brooks, 19, is charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, Calhoun said. Bond was set at $50,000, he said, and Brooks has since made bond and been released. The case will be presented to the next available grand jury.

“I think the community needs to know this was not, based upon our investigation, what we know at this time, not something that was done maliciously,” he said. “It was a situation where the individual, based upon the law, is being charged because he caused the death of another and did not stop.”

With the arrest comes a clearer picture of the incident, Calhoun said, and investigators believe Bell was struck at approximately 10:30 p.m. the previous Thursday, May 9. Through the investigation, he said, it became clear several people found Bell’s body prior to Tuesday’s 911 caller but did not alert authorities.

“That is frustrating for our community,” he said. “We should do better.”

Calhoun said he wanted the community to know deputies worked hard to find answers in the case and bring about Thursday’s arrest.

“I want the community to know that the men and women who serve at the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department are very diligent about their jobs, take it very seriously and they worked very hard to make sure that they dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s in this investigation,” he said.

Package Thefts

In a separate, unrelated investigation, Calhoun said he wanted to thank the community for its assistance in an investigation leading to the arrest of 34-year-old Kristen McCullough.

McCullough is suspected of stealing packages and other items from residents’ mailboxes in the area of Highway 494, Calhoun said. She is charged with two counts of petty larceny and one count of disorderly conduct in addition to a hold request from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Deputies were aided in their investigation by video footage from residents’ cameras, Calhoun said, and the assistance from the community shows what can be accomplished when law enforcement and residents work together.

“There’s never going to be enough law enforcement officers, no matter where you go. Matter of fact, I will tell you, we wouldn’t want to live in a country or a community where the eyes of law enforcement were constantly upon us,” he said. “But we do need the community’s help whenever we’re investigating crimes because with their help, they provide information that causes us to be more efficient and helps us get our job done in a timely manner.”

LCSD has reached out to U.S. Postal Inspectors to see if they would like to be involved with the investigation, Calhoun said. The mailbox thefts continue to be an active investigation, he said, and more arrests cannot be ruled out.

While catching the thieves is one way to approach the issue, Calhoun said preventing thefts from occurring in the first place is ideal. Having packages placed in a garage, delivered to a neighbor who is often home, put in a container or delivered to work can all lower the risk of deliveries being taken by thieves.