CARROLL COUNTY – Two men have been charged after deputies recovered a vehicle stolen from a senior citizen earlier this week, according to Carroll County officials.
Source: Carroll County SOEdward Earl Henley
Billy Earl AkinsSource: Carroll County SO
Authorities said the Carroll County Emergency Operations Center received a call Monday morning, March 16, from a senior citizen who discovered her only mode of transportation had been stolen. Deputies were dispatched to a residence near the Greenwood Leflore Airport.
Investigators determined the vehicle had been taken during storms that moved through the area Sunday night.
Through the investigation, deputies developed suspects and, over the next 48 hours, worked with the Greenwood Police Department and the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Department to locate the vehicle.
The car was eventually recovered in Tallahatchie County.
Billy Earl Akins, 38, of Carrollton, and Edward Earl Henley, 33, of Greenwood, have been charged with theft of a motor vehicle. Akins remains jailed at the Carroll County Regional Correctional Facility.
Sheriff Clint Walker said cases involving senior citizens are a priority for his office.
“While we work for all the citizens of our county, there is a certain urgency when it comes to our senior citizens being victimized,” Walker said. “Many of them are on fixed incomes and rely on their vehicles to maintain their independence and mobility. We don’t rest until those who prey on them are held accountable.”
Walker also credited the cooperation between agencies for the quick recovery of the vehicle.
