Poplarville death threat suspect identified, arrested

Local News

November 14, 2008

By Jeremy Pittari Picayune Item Fri Nov 14, 2008, 08:29 AM CST

POPLARVILLE — A young black man posing as a white man used a social networking Internet application, Facebook, to send threatening messages to other black people.

The suspect has been identified as 19 year-old Dyron Hart of 89 Ellis Hart Rd., Poplarville. He has been charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure another person, said Capt. Rossy Creel of the Poplarville Police Department. He said the charge against Hart is a felony.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Louisiana office after threats sent to students at Nicholls State University in Louisiana were reported in early November.

Three NSU students reported receiving the message, along with a student at USM and a Poplarville resident, Creel said. Hart is a former student at NSU. He was arrested on Wednesday by the FBI with the Poplarville Police Department assisting.

Hart faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was booked into the Stone County jail and was expected to have his initial appearance on Thursday, the FBI press release states.

The message was sent by Hart in early November using a profile he created under the name of Colten Brodoux, according to an affidavit filed in the United States Eastern District Court of Louisiana. After the FBI was notified of the e-mail on Nov. 6, an investigation began. All the victims involved received the same message.

In the message were rants of hate and contempt, including racial slang, about the election of Barack Obama to become the nation’s next president. Death threats were a major part of the e-mail and a comment in the e-mail indicated to the victims that the individual sending the message was a white man.

Apparently Hart used contacts saved in the profile under his own name as contacts to send the threatening messages to through the false profile. Hart was identified as a suspect by investigators who traced the Internet Protocol address used to post the messages, the affidavit states.

During an interview with the FBI, Hart admitted to creating the account under the name of Colten Brodoux and sending the threatening messages to students at NSU, Louisiana State University, University of Alabama and individuals in the Poplarville area. His purpose for sending the message was to “create a reaction,” the affidavit stated.

Issuance of the e-mail goes against everything that Barack Obama stands for, said Picayune City Councilman Leavern Guy. What Hart is charged with doing is wrong and goes against the message of the Obama campaign, Guy said.

Guy hopes that now that Obama has been elected, young black people can pull up their pants, respect themselves and be considerate to their elders.

“Obama being elected is not saying ‘we have arrived’,’” Guy said. “It’s time to bury all this old hatred and move forward.”

Pearl River County Board of Supervisor’s president Anthony Hales said he thinks it is sad that anyone would take the election of the new president and use it to try to perpetuate something such as this.

“We already have enough people on edge due to the election, which I think is sad in itself,” Hales said.

Hales said he hopes whoever did this can see the seriousness of the act and what it could do to the equality and civil rights work done so far in this country.

Text Only

Local News

SIDEWALK WORK CONTINUES SIDEWALK WORK CONTINUES — Jeffrey Hartfield, left, and Eddie Fry finish up sidewalk work in front of Snyder Park on Beech Street on Thursday. They work for RJM, which subcontracted the work from HSI. Almost the full length of Beech is getting a workover in a $400,000 project.
February 10, 2012 1 Photo
CROSSES ERECTED St. Charles Catholic Church on Goodyear Boulevard has erected crosses it says represents the number of abortion daily in the U.S.
February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Shooting suspects bound to grand jury Two of the three suspects involved in December’s deadly shoot-out have been bound over to the grand jury. Those defendants are 27-year-old Quincy Jones and 31-year-old Decori King.
February 10, 2012
Saturday noon is last chance to register to vote in March 13 primaries The heated race to see who will get the Republican nomination for President continues and is coming to Pearl River County, as voters trek to the polls to vote in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries on March 13, and in the primaries for the U.S. Senate and congressional races.
February 10, 2012
Friends of Boley discuss next cleanup Members of the Friends of Boley met Thursday morning to plan for their next big cleanup. With the next cleanup scheduled for April 21, Christy Goss, a city employee, suggested combining that effort with the Great American Cleanup the city participates in each year.
February 10, 2012
SAFETY DAY Picayune Police officers made a visit to the First Baptist Church of Picayune’s preschool class for their Community Helpers Safety Day. During the event the kids got to meet police officers and trigger lights and sirens in patrol vehicles.
February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Escapee caught in county Pearl River County Sheriff’s deputies have captured the inmate who escaped from Mississippi Department of Corrections custody on Friday after attending his father’s wake in Picayune.
February 9, 2012
Council discusses which funds to spend first On the same day as the ground breaking for the addition to the historic City Hall, city council members discussed which funds to spend first in its construction.
February 9, 2012
Poplarville aldermen honor Holliday, get audit report briefing The city board of aldermen honored former District Three Supervisor Hudson Holliday at its Tuesday night meeting. Mayor Billy Spiers presented Holliday with a framed resolution of appreciation for his dedication and service to the city while serving as county supervisor.
February 9, 2012 1 Photo
MRI INSTALLED
This $1.2 million Magnetic Resonance Imaging equipment was installed at the new location of Highland Community Hospital.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Poplarville death threat suspect identified, arrested

Site Map

Contact Us