Feds Have Contacted Local Authorities
By Josh Mitchell
Corinth Today News Editor
An FBI spokesman says the agency is “aware” that the suspect in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper was allegedly beat up in the Tippah County Jail.
“We are aware of this incident and have been in touch with local authorities to determine if there have been any federal civil rights violations,” the FBI statement said. “Because it is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further.”
The suspect, Troy Anthony Eaton, 43, of Rienzi, was allegedly beat up in the Tippah County Jail a few days after he turned himself in, according to one of his attorneys, Jamie Franks.
Eaton was treated with staples around one eye and was put in another facility for safety, Franks said. He was transferred to Marshall County after the alleged incident and is still being held without bond.
District Attorney Ben Creekmore, whose jurisdiction includes Tippah County, declined comment on the alleged jail beating. Officials from Tippah County and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety were not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
Eaton is charged with capital murder for allegedly shooting off-duty Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper Josh Smith, who was found deceased Sept. 30 in Tippah County’s Big Hatchie Bottom.
The charging affidavit against Eaton alleges that Smith was acting in an official law enforcement capacity when he was killed. The affidavit also alleges that Eaton “knew” Smith was acting in an official capacity as a state trooper at the time of the shooting.
However, Eaton’s attorneys, Franks and Bill Wheeler, said there are a “multitude of witnesses” who support the claim that Eaton was exercising his legal right to self-defense when the shooting happened.
Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Master Sgt. Ray Hall said last week that the investigation is ongoing.
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