Background: The 35/55 truck stop on Highway 35 in Vaiden, Mississippi (Google Maps). Inset: Charlie Terrell Jones (Carroll County Regional Correctional Facility).
A Mississippi man tried to gouge the eyes out of a truck stop clerk because he was upset about the price of gas, authorities say.
Charlie Terrell Jones, 40, has been charged with armed robbery. The Carroll County Sheriff”s Office said the attack occurred on Monday just after noon.
At the 35/55 truck stop on Highway 35 in Vaiden, a town about 80 miles north of Jackson, a clerk was inside his store when a man came in and “argued with him about the price of gas.” As the argument continued, according to the employee, “the suspect began to beat the clerk severely and even attempted to gouge out the clerk’s eyes.”
The suspect also is accused of hitting the worker on the back of the head — but that wasn’t the end of things. The assailant allegedly went back to his vehicle, “returned with a gun and demanded that the clerk give him the money in the register.”
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The clerk is said to have acquiesced, and the suspect left the truck stop with the money. When first responders and deputies arrived, they found the clerk “badly beaten.” He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for his injuries, including having stitches put on the back of his head.
The alleged victim gave his account to investigators of what happened and helped them develop a suspect — Jones. He was known for having a “violent criminal background” and was released on parole just seven months before after serving over 20 years for “various violent crimes including sexual battery and two counts of kidnapping,” according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies located Jones and set up surveillance while they secured a warrant for his arrest. Other agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, were called in for help, but before officials could arrest him, Jones had left the area.
Law enforcement reportedly spotted him heading south on Highway 35 toward Kosciusko, and a roadblock was set up. It appears that Jones was not alone, deputies said, and “eventually, the suspect and his driver were forced to stop at the roadblock, and the suspect was taken into custody without incident.”
Jones was placed into the Carroll County Regional Correctional Facility on the armed robbery charge. The sheriff’s office said days later that additional charges of possession of a weapon by a felon and failure to register as a sex offender were expected.
“I am grateful to the Lord that this incident was resolved without any further violence or injury,” Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker said. “Jones is a threat to society, and I am glad that he has been removed from our streets.”
“Again, the quick and dedicated investigation by our deputies and the cooperation between all the law enforcement agencies involved made all the difference in the resolution of this case,” the sheriff added. Jones was awaiting a first appearance in court as of Tuesday.
