An armed trespasser was apprehended following a nearly six-hour standoff with Attala County Sheriff’s deputies at a privately-owned deer camp on Highway 35 North near the Attala/Carroll county line.
The sheriff’s office received a call around 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 10 for trespassing, which escalated to breaking-and-entering.
Chief Deputy Zelie Shaw said the individual, later identified as 53-year-old Sean Hinson of West, MS, entered the deer camp unlawfully, barricaded himself inside of a house, and refused to exit.
Hinson, reportedly not a member of the private deer camp, was allegedly armed with an assault rifle and shotgun, according to law enforcement officials. The firearms were recovered following the standoff.
“Deputies responded to that location,” said Shaw. “Once they arrived at the scene and spoke with the parties, they understood (Hinson) was in fact armed and wouldn’t come out. He had broken into the property and kept refusing to come out, so immediately deputies were dispatched to assist with the situation.”
Once deputies approached the scene, they learned that shots had been fired prior to their arrival, according to Chief Deputy Shaw.
“They secured the scene and attempted multiple times to make contact over a P.A. system, and the subject continued to refuse to come out,” said Shaw. “Basically, we were there probably six hours or a little bit longer.”
Shaw said Hinson refused to communicate with deputies until Sheriff Tim Nail arrived at the scene.
“When the sheriff arrived, he did have communication with him by cell phone. He spoke with him multiple times to try to get him to de-escalate it and get him to come out,” said Shaw. “He continued to do so for quite some time until ultimately he did come out, but then he resisted.”
Shaw said tasers were deployed in order to apprehend Hinson.
Hinson was taken into custody and transported to the emergency room for evaluation before being booked in the Leake County Jail at 10:09 p.m., where he was charged with two counts — one for burglary and one for resisting arrest.
When asked what Hinson’s motive was in the burglary or if there was intent to harm, the chief deputy told The Star-Herald that he is unsure, but the matter is currently under investigation.
“I don’t know. That part is still under investigation,” said Shaw. “From the information we were able to gather, the guy, for whatever reason, was unstable.”
Hinson’s bond was set at $50,000 by Justice Court Judge Rosie Sample.
