The Jackson Police Department recently recognized Officer Jamie White for apprehending a pair of armed-robbery suspects. JPD named White the Officer of the Month for October. He received his award alongside Officer Daniel Elam, who accompanied White during his investigation and received a certificate of commendation.
The robbery occurred at the Family Dollar on Briarwood Drive. White knows the wooded area behind the store well and decided that it was most likely the suspects’ escape route.
“There’s an apartment complex and residences out there, and there are walking trails and shortcuts as well,” White said. “We have discovered numerous stolen items out there in the past, so we knew criminals were using the area as a shortcut to avoid being seen.”
White and Elam met behind the nearby Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City and followed the suspects’ footpath through the woods, which led them to Cedarstone Apartments. They encountered two male suspects who were suspiciously looking over their shoulders as they moved quickly to get into a silver Crown Victoria. White and Elam flagged the two down and detained them. The suspects were Christopher Mason, 26, and Christopher Washington, 25.
Mason had a clear plastic bag in his possession containing what White believed to be marijuana. White’s inquiry revealed Mason also had active warrants for traffic violations. White and Elam searched the suspects’ vehicle and recovered three handguns from under the driver’s and passenger’s seat, parts and ammunition for an AK-47, and shotgun shells. They took Mason and Washington to the Family Dollar and reviewed the store’s surveillance tape with a robbery and homicide detective; the officers determined that Mason and Washington appeared to be the masked robbers on the tape. The two suspects were taken to JPD headquarters and charged with armed robbery.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
