Charges Against Flora Man Accused of Negligent Manslaughter Dropped.

Hinds Co. fatal car crash charges dropped

Charges are being dropped against a Flora man accused of causing a 2006 crash that killed a 2-year-old and injured the child's mother because of inconclusive accident-reconstruction reports.

Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith tells The Clarion-Ledger that two recent accident reconstructions did not determine fault in the crash.

Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted 55-year-old Gary Beckwith on a culpable negligence manslaughter charge in the death of Ariyanna Patton of Bolton and aggravated assault for injuries to her mother, Kenya Harris.

Beckwith's attorney, Marc Brand, said prosecutors saw it was nothing more than an accident.

Beckwith's trial was scheduled for Sept. 20 in Hinds County Circuit Court.

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Jackpot Jackson Jury decides it takes a village, but not parents.

A Hinds County Circuit Court jury has awarded $4.7 million to the parents of two children who nearly drowned in 2007 in the swimming pool at the La Quinta Inn in Jackson. The jury found that the parents were only 15 percent to blame despite the fact that the parents left the 8 and 9 year old kids at the hotel alone. It's also important to note that the kids, who could not swim, were told by their parents not to go near the pool, but they disobeyed. It's also important to note that if not for the quick action of hotel employees the children likely would have drowned.

So, who's to blame, again?

$4.7M award in near drowning at Jackson motel


Motel blamed in swimming pool accident

A Hinds County Circuit Court jury has awarded $4.7 million to the parents of two children who nearly drowned in 2007 in the swimming pool at the La Quinta Inn in Jackson.

After a two-week trial, the jury returned an award of $5.6 million, affixing fault at 85 percent to the Inn and 15 percent to the parents. The percentage attributed to the parents reduced the award to the $4.7 million, said Ashley Ogden, attorney for the family.

"We hope this jury verdict will tell hotels that set up their own rules for safety ... to follow them," Ogden said Thursday.

The parents said in the lawsuit that the hotel was negligence. The crux of their case was that the gate on the fence surrounding the pool was supposed to be locked when the pool wasn't in operation - per company policy. The pool's operating hours were 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to court records.

Also, testimony during the trial established a self-latching device on the pool gate wasn't working, according to Ogden. Employees testified they did not lock the pool that night, according to the lawsuit.

Also, the lawsuit said La Quinta's corporate policy required the hotel manager, Dave Lehman, to maintain CPR certification, but his certification had lapsed.

La Quinta officials argued there was no duty to lock the pool gate during nonpool hours and that the children were not left in their care that morning.

Also, they said Lehman responded quickly to the emergency and helped saved the lives of the children.

Charlene Priester, one of the attorneys defending La Quinta, said no decision has been made on an appeal.

The near drownings took place July 30, 2007, at the La Quinta on Briarwood Drive. The children, ages 8 and 9, and their parents were staying there at the time..

The children were left at the hotel while their father, Robert Sproles Jr., took his wife to work at Central Mississippi Medical Center.

The parents said the children had been warned to stay away from the pool. Neither child knew how to swim.

Security footage from the hotel showed the Sproles left about 6:34 that morning. Sometime between that time and 7 a.m., the children ended up in the pool.

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Judge Lutz affirms MDEQ position on additional Madison County landfill

The Madison County Journal is reporting that Judge William Lutz has affirmed the Mississippi Department of Enviromental Quality's position that allows for a third landfill in Madison County. Hinds County had appealed the five-year-old state commission ruling that approved Madison County’s solid waste management plan.

The addition to the plan of a proposed landfill on North County Line, next to the existing Little Dixie landfill was approved by the Commission on Environmental Quality in 2005, but Hinds County appealed that decision to Hinds County Chancery Court. Judge Lutz, a former Madison County Chancery judge, heard arguments from both sides Monday.