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By WLBT Digital | April 8, 2021 at 4:36 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 4:36 PM
VICKSBURG, Miss. (WLBT) – Vicksburg police arrested a woman accused of posting child pornography on social media.
The investigation began in 2020 when a video surfaced on social media of two children having sex.
Investigators tracked the video to 21-year-old Jessica Williams.
Williams was arrested Thursday. Her bond was set at $40,000.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By Jacob Gallant | April 8, 2021 at 3:47 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 7:56 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi Coding Academies and DSC Training Academy is partnering to open a new campus in South Jackson.
The coding campus will open at 3906 I-55 South Frontage Road and will be linked to the downtown MCA site virtually.
“Our goal is to reach high school graduates who are motivated to become coders and enter a high-tech career, making $40,000 or more per year to start,” said Rich Sun, director of the Jackson campuses. “The comfort and convenience of this facility should make it easier for us to train more young coders in the capital city.”
Those interested in becoming a coder can apply by clicking here.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By WLBT Digital | April 8, 2021 at 3:26 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 8:40 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A former Jackson Public School teacher who was found guilty of sexual battery against a 17-year-old student was sentenced to 15 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Amber Turnage, who was sentenced Thursday, will serve ten years behind bars with five years suspended for both counts of sexual battery. She must also register as a sex offender.
Turnage was found guilty of her crimes in March after an investigation was launched in 2017. Investigators said she had a relationship with a 17-year-old student at Provine High School.
The investigation began after the victim’s father found sexual videos of Turnage and his teen son.
The student said he met Turnage, who was married at the time, after school one day and that they quickly developed a relationship.
The victim alleged that Turnage gave him gift cards, money and even said that the two would sometimes go to different motels in Jackson.
While testifying, the victim’s father said that he became suspicious of his son’s behavior and decided to go through his cell phone. That’s when he found videos of his son and Turnage.
Turnage claimed she was controlled by the student.
The teacher was fired from Jackson Public Schools after two years with Provine High School.
An attorney for the family released a statement when Turnage was found guilty last month, reading in part that Turnage’s conviction “reaffirms the notion that child predators deserve the shock and outrage which accompany their despicable acts and in a civilized society, these acts must always be met with the severest punishment.”
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By WLBT Digital | April 8, 2021 at 2:56 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 2:56 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – If you’re a student enrolled in any high school, college, or university, Hinds Community College is offering you free credit courses this summer, including tuition, fees, and books.
Summer registration is now open for current students and opens on April 12 for new students.
The free courses are open to current Hinds students, dual-enrolled students, high school graduates, transfers from other colleges and universities.
The courses include both face-to-face and online courses.
Students should meet admission requirements and then register for summer classes.
The free courses are made possible with funding from the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act/Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By Jacob Gallant | April 8, 2021 at 2:00 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 3:57 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Jackson Police Department is investigating a shooting that happened Thursday afternoon.
Police confirmed a man was shot multiple times at the corner of Robinson Road and Rose Street.
Police say there was an altercation between the man and the shooter inside a store that led to the shooting.
Police later identified the victim as 21-year-old Jaquan Williams.
The suspect fled the scene and has not yet been identified.
Police are also investigating at another scene near E&L Barbecue on Bailey Avenue. It’s unclear if the scenes are connected.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By WLBT Digital | April 8, 2021 at 11:55 AM CDT – Updated April 8 at 11:55 AM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Jackson police say they seized more than $11,000 in cash and an undisclosed amount of crack cocaine following a recent traffic stop.
Police made the discovery on Wednesday, after pulling over Marques Webb.
Webb, 37, is being charged with felony possession of narcotics and possession of an open container.
It was not clear when he would make his initial court appearance.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Protecting Yourself from Coronavirus (May 2020)
By WLBT Digital | March 13, 2020 at 11:42 AM CDT – Updated April 8 at 9:06 AM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 240 new cases and 5 new deaths Thursday.
The number of presumed positive coronavirus cases in Mississippi is now at 306,851 as of April 7.
So far, 7,082 people have died from COVID-19 in Mississippi.
The number of tests administered in the state totals 2,633,209 as of April 4. This includes MSDH Public Health Laboratory tests and other providers.
An estimated 295,569 people have recovered from the virus.
Mississippi Department of Health has a hotline open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for any coronavirus-related questions: 877-978-6453.
Copyright 2020 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By WLBT Digital | April 7, 2021 at 9:38 PM CDT – Updated April 7 at 9:38 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The Jackson Police Department is investigating a shooting which occurred Wednesday night.
It happened at the Village Apartments on Raymond Road. A man was shot in the shoulder.
The victim then drove to the Wing Stop off Ellis Avenue because, according to an officer, the man likely saw blue lights at the restaurant.
This is a developing story.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By David Kenney | April 7, 2021 at 7:47 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 1:54 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – There are alarming new details about the condition of Jackson’s water treatment system.
We’ve learned that over a year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency sent an emergency administrative order demanding the city fix the water system or face hefty fines.
Documents show this emergency administrative order was sent to the city last March. We’ve heard city officials talk about the EPA inspecting the water treatment plants and this report details what they found.
The EPA report was critical saying Jackson’s water treatment plants were being mismanaged, had routine equipment failures, vital positions to monitor water treatment were not staffed which could lead to water contamination.
The report also said that plant conditions present imminent and substantial endangerment to the people served by the system.
It also said that turbidity disinfection treatment concerns condition of the system has potential for presence of e.coli in the water. City council members, who just learned about the report a year after it was sent to the city, were alarmed.
Councilman Kenneth Stokes said that with all the problems the city’s having with the water system, it may be better to have someone else manage it.
Stokes said, “If the city cannot run it properly and we’re going to experience these water problems every winter where people are going weeks and months without water, then we need to do something different. If something different means we need to get private companies in here to run our water plant, then so be it.”
The city is making nearly $5 million in repairs at both of their water treatment plants. Some city leaders now wonder if the system failure during the ice storm could have been avoided, if only they knew what the EPA had found.
Councilman Ashby Foote said, “It was a great wake up call for the City of Jackson, ordered by the EPA for the emergency that might lie ahead and sure enough we got hit by that emergency, shut down the water system for weeks in some areas of Jackson. Really disrupted the livelihood and quality of life for our citizens, and the city had been warned about that but the council that had not been warned about it and that’s really disappointing.”
Mayor Lumumba sent a letter to the EPA last year promising to follow their guidelines and make repairs. Members of the council hope to have a healthy discussion about that and why they were kept out of the loop at next weeks council meeting.
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
By Jacob Gallant | April 7, 2021 at 6:00 PM CDT – Updated April 8 at 7:05 AM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson spoke out against voting reform efforts.
In an interview with WLOX last month, Watson said some efforts being sought out by Democrats will register people to vote, “who don’t want to vote” or are uninformed.
“Mississippi is doing things the right way under the system we have now,” Watson said.
He says there was no widespread voter fraud in Mississippi, though there were a few cases of potential fraud his office is still investigating.
Watson says the idea of no-excuse early and absentee voting as well as “ballot drop boxes” that some states currently have will be forced upon states under new federal reform efforts that will “take away our ability to manage elections here in Mississippi by the federal government.”
“It’s a bad idea,” he said.
“We want to make it easier for Mississippians to vote,” he said. “…but you balance that with the integrity of the system.”
Watson also suggested he doesn’t believe a Republican could ever win another national election if the voting laws passed.
Watson suggested these laws would lead to people being registered to vote and receiving a mail-in ballot despite being “uninformed.”
“Think about all these woke college and university students now who are automatically registered to vote, whether they wanted to or not, again if they didn’t know to opt out then receive a mail-in ballot that they probably didn’t even know was coming because they didn’t know they registered to vote. You’ve got an uninformed citizen who may not be prepared and ready to vote automatically forced on them, ‘hey go make a choice,’ and our country’s going to pay for those choices.”
Copyright 2021 WLBT. All rights reserved.
