Convicted felon arrested on Bogue Chitto Road on aggravated assault charges after Saturday shooting
Published 9:32 pm Tuesday, December 5, 2017
A Lincoln County man who allegedly shot an acquaintance over a land dispute this weekend was picked up by deputies Tuesday night during a traffic stop.
Andrew Hammond, 29, will likely be charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, said Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing.
Hammond has been on the run since the shooting Saturday about 3 a.m., Rushing said.
He was arrested about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday.
“Deputies located him on Bogue Chitto Road and did a traffic stop on his vehicle,” Rushing said.
The victim, who Rushing said is a “friend of a friend” of Hammond’s, was treated at King’s Daughters Medical Center then transferred to University of Mississippi Medical Center for surgery for injuries to his leg.
Rushing said the shooting occurred on Wellman Drive between Bogue Chitto and East Lincoln following a dispute by the two men over some property. The shooting was at the home of the mutual friend, Rushing said.
A Lincoln County jury convicted Hammond of manslaughter in 2011, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended and five years of probation, according to court records.
Prosecutors had originally indicted and charged Hammond with murder for the 2010 shooting death of 45-year-old William “Bubba” Thompson of Bogue Chitto at the residence of Thompson’s daughter, Gena Thompson.
A jury found Hammond guilty of manslaughter at the conclusion of a two-day murder trial.
In addition to the prison sentence, Lincoln County Circuit Judge David Strong ordered Hammond to pay court costs, the Thompson family’s medical and funeral expenses and a $5,000 fine.
In 2013, the state Court of Appeals upheld the manslaughter conviction.