After pointing a pistol at several people at the Rosa Hold swimming area off Hwy. 14 West, a Stone County man battered a female, fought with Stone County Sheriff’s deputies, tried to kick the glass out of the squad car on his way to jail, and kept up his resistance of authorities in his cell as he awaited transfer, authorities report.
Dep. Lt. Zach Alexander was the first on scene at the swimming hole parking area where he met Trisha Greenhaw, crying and saying she had been struck in her face and arm by 39-year-old Christopher Lynn Mitchell.
Alexander then spotted Mitchell near a pickup truck where it appeared he put something into the truck. During a “pat down,” Mitchell became agitated and uncontrollable. Chief Dep. Dewayne Pierce and later Det. Brad Breeding, all worked to restrain Mitchell. After a struggle, Mitchell was taken into custody and placed in a squad car.
Individuals at the scene told police Mitchell pointed a pistol, a Jimenez semi-automatic, at several people prior to the lieutenant’s arrival. Police found the pistol in the front seat of Mitchell’s truck. Also found in a backpack were two syringes, one containing a small amount of methamphetamine, one glass smoking device, and a green leafy substance in a small mason jar that tested positive as marijuana, according to authorities.
On the way to jail, Mitchell tried to kick out the window of the squad car without success. He was placed in a holding cell in a restraint chair at the jail. No room in the holding cell to keep Mitchell necessitated deputies to contact Cleburne County to house Mitchell.
Deputies say, on the way, Mitchell caused constant problems. When Dep. Michael Tharp arrived in Cleburne County with Mitchell, the Cleburne County jail refused to take Mitchell and all the trouble he was causing.
Mitchell was returned to Stone County where he was put in a lock-down cell within the felony pod where he continued to yell and bang his head against the toilet and kick the door.
Here is a list of charges prosecutors have filed against Mitchell: felony aggravated assault (four counts); aggravated assault of law enforcement officers, a felony; three counts of terroristic threatening; possession of a firearm by a previously-convicted felon; enhancement as a habitual offender; impairing the operation of a vital public facility (namely the jail); resisting arrest; and criminal mischief in the first degree
Mitchell has been placed on a $250,000 bond.
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