HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – The mother of a man charged in connection to a Hattiesburg shooting filed a lawsuit against the City of Hattiesburg, the Hattiesburg Police Department (HPD), the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, “unknown police officers,” “unknown defendants” and “unknown news media.”
William Jones III, 23, of Hattiesburg, was charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to a shooting that happened on Eastside Avenue on Wednesday, June 8. Hattiesburg police said Jones and another man were both shot in the leg.
Pine Belt News reported his mother, Vanessa Jones, local attorney and former Hattiesburg Municipal Court Judge, filed the suit on behalf of Jones. The suit states the defendants violated her son’s right against unlawful search and seizure, false arrest and unlawful incarceration.
The suit claims that Jones, an owner of Eastside Soul Food Restaurant, was walking out the front door of the restaurant when he was shot by a man in the parking lot. It states that Jones shot back in self-defense. He was then taken to Forrest General Hospital for treatment.
Then, police reportedly searched his car for five hours, which the suit said violated his rights. Additionally, the suit claims Hattiesburg police refused to let Jones’ family know his location and medical condition for hours. It said police rushed him to the Forrest County Jail so that his picture could be in 10:00 p.m. news.
Jones is seeking compensatory damages for psychological and emotional trauma, costs for medical and psychological treatment and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
