A Starkville man is behind bars at the Oktibbeha County Jail after he and four other armed suspects allegedly broke into a Louisville Street apartment.
Devon C. Riley, 23, faces a felony aggravated assault charge after Starkville Police Department officers and the U.S. Marshal Task Force agents arrested him Friday.
Court records allege Riley and the other suspects broke through the victim’s front door while he was asleep on Feb. 22. The victim, an affidavit states, fired a weapon to defend himself, causing the suspects to flee the scene.
SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady did not comment on the status of the other four suspects, other than to say it is “still actively being investigated.”
If convicted, Riley faces up to 20 years in prison.
He remains in custody on a $100,000 bond.
Car chase
A Macon man was arrested Saturday after he led area law enforcement agents on a car chase from Starkville to Lowndes County.
Jamee Welch, 19, faces 11 total charges — felony failure to stop his motor vehicle when an officer signals, eight misdemeanor disobedience of a traffic-control device and two speeding citations — after he was finally caught in the Crawford area of Lowndes County.
A Starkville patrolman attempted to pull over Welch in a traffic stop that initiated the chase, Oktibbeha County Chief Deputy Chadd Garnett said, and officers were joined in pursuit by Oktibbeha and Lowndes deputies and the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Welch was booked in county jail with total bond set at $6,918. A jail official said Welch was no longer in custody Tuesday morning.
SPD released no additional details on either arrests.
Anyone with information on these or any other incidents is asked to call SPD at 662-323-4131 or the Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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