Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Town leaders to hold special called meeting July 2

Hayneville Police Investigator Deardra Pinkett held a press conference Monday, June 30 in the courtroom of the Hayneville Town Hall. The media event, planned to feature the officer and Hayneville municipal judge Kameisha Logan, highlighted Pinkett alone in the courtroom where she said events leading up to her recent suspension began to unfold.

Pinkett told reporters Logan was unable to attend after having minor surgery last week. Instead, the investigator shared the details of her story for reporters from the Lowndes Signal, WAKA and WSFA.

“I was told by my supervisor to not come to court concerning a June 12 court case,” Pinkett said. “On June 11, I gave Chief [Kelvin] Mitchell a call and told him [sic] not to go to court because the judge had issued an order for him not to come in the courtroom unless he had a case that is being presented.”

Because the Hayneville PD is the sole provider for the court’s security, Pinkett said she turned to Mayor Jimmie Davis for direction and followed his countermanding order to be present for June 12 hearings. Afterward, she said Mitchell suspended her for three unpaid days, a directive which Davis overruled the following day.

Pinkett recounted other details previously shared with the Signal, including allegations involving missing firearms. Her testimony provides one example of a fact local courtrooms are already aware of — June 12 is not the first instance of Hayneville’s officers being absent from local courtrooms.

Since 2019, at least for cases were dismissed by the Lowndes County District Court after Hayneville police officers failed to appear at hearings to testify. In each case, including the 2019 trial of Ladarious Reed for armed robbery of the Hayneville Subway, the dismissal order reads as follows:

“The investigating officer from the Town of Hayneville failed to appear on both occasions after having been served a subpoena to appear. This action is hereby dismissed without prejudice for want of prosecution.”

Sandy Harrell, the previous owner of the former Hayneville QV recalled similar difficulties getting the department to respond to calls for assistance.

“Over the last three years, Chief Mitchell” never came onto our property, even though we had numerous calls or problems,” Harrell said. “Either a policeman would not come or came later on… so the Sheriff’s department would take over.”

Harrell said during one incident, a nighttime break in, the Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene and called Mitchell, a procedure common since Hayneville is the police department’s primary jurisdiction.

“They called him, and he said, ‘I’m not going to that damn store,'” Harrell said. “I heard him say that because he had it on speakerphone. He also said, ‘Ya’ll handle it,’ and they caught the person who did it.”

The town council plans to hold a special called meeting Wednesday, July 2, to discuss issues between Mitchell and Pinkett. Set for 6 p.m. at the town hall, the meeting is open to the public.