WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 11/25/2020

WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 11/25/2020

Show open show open show open show open intro for the last year, for the last year, for the last year, a west point woman has walked out her front door... looked at the driveway and wondered who shot and killed her son... right there in front of her home.

There's been no arrest and no answer to her simple question... who pulled the trigger?

Today, police plead for help in the case.

Wcbi's stephen pimpo was at the press conference and joins us now live in the studio with more.

Willie mae spraggins barely had the strength to talk today, much less plead for someone to come forward with information that could lead to her son's killer.

Investigators say they will spend the rest of their careers trying to find the gunman..

One year with no arrest they say is too long..

And today they make an impassioned plea for help.

"who did such a thing to my child?

That's all i want to know.

Who did that?

And then i had to come out there and find him all shot up in the head."

One year later...willie mae spraggins is still looking for answers after her son was shot and killed right outside her front door.

On wednesday, she stood with her daughter and grandaughter as west point police sergeant ramirez ivy once again asked for help to find the person who killed jamel banks.

"we need you.

We need you to come forward to help solve these crimes and help this mother who's grieving and has to relive this everyday."

Su: this is the scene where willie mae spraggins found her son with fatal gunshot wounds right outside her front yard.

The search for suspects continues police are still looking for a suspects sergeant ivy says police have struggled to come up with credible witnesses or promising leads to find out why banks was killed and who pulled the trigger.

"conspiracy theories don't solve a case.

So, the hugest stumbling block we face with this case and many others are people's thoughts.

What they think happened.

We need to know what they know.

What actually happened."

Banks's daughter jamia webber thinks some people are just too afraid to talk.

"people don't want to be labeled a snitch or a tattle tail.

So, i think that is a big barrier to people coming forward."

Banks was a father of three who worked at a car wash and had no apparent enemies.

"somebody come forward to help us please so i can be able to tell my niece one day that somebody murdered her father and we know who it is."

If you have any information to help police find the person that killed jamel banks... call golden triangle crimestoppers.

You can report anonymously give that tip and crime stoppers is offering a five thousand dollar reward.

West point police also give an update today on the search for a man who disappeared three years ago.

Rahman hernandez was last seen by his family on november 21st 2018.

West point police say state, local and federal agencies have all been involved in the search for hernandez.

Efforts to find him included ground searches, patrols, k-9 units and cadaver dogs.

Still...there's been no new information.

"investigators are again requesting help from the public in regards to this matter.

In the begining, we were given several tips on this case that led us to dead ends.

Police are asking now that anyone with factual information on the disapearence of mister hernandez to please come forward."

Anyone with information on hernandez is asked to call west point police.

A ... icc football player is admits to breaking-in a convenience store.

20-year-old collins woods the third of new orleans is charged with burglary of a commercial building.

Tishomingo county investigators say a belmont police officer spotted woods walking down highway 366 back on november 14th.

The officer knew woods because he once worked at itawamba community college.

The same officer later noticed, nearby, golden mini-mart has been burglarized.

With help of icc officials, woods later turned himself in and admitted to the break-in.

Icc released a statement that says, in part..

Quote... "the student was previously a member of the football team but is no longer associated with icc athletics."

End quote.

Off top oxford police make two recent arrests for child sex crimes.

43-year-old ricky williams of oxford is charged with enticement of a child for sexual purposes.

Officers were tipped off on november 21st that man was allegedly soliciting a minor for sexual purposes on social media.

Through the course of the investigation, williams was arrested.

His bond was set at 75 thousand dollars.

In an unrelated case, 25-year-old justin newby is charged child abuse, statutory rape, and human trafficking.

On november 18th, oxford officers were called to a jackson avenue business out of concern for a child.

Child protective services was called, along with the attorney general's office to help in the case.

The investigation is still going on and more details could be released later.

Top winston county deputies continue to investigate a deadly shooting.

Steve watkins died monday after being shot multiple times.

The incident happened monday at a home on tuck wilks road, just outside of noxapater.

Winston county sheriff jason pugh says investigators are waiting on a preliminary autopsy result.

No one has been arrested.

The case will likely be presented to a grand jury.

Off top columbus police say this guy showed up a little too early to catch a movie and get some popcorn.

Investigators say this man broke into the malco theater, on highway 45, about 7 am on october 30th.

Police believe someone gave him access to the building because there were no signs of forced entry.

No one was inside the the theater at the time.

Call golden triangle crime stoppers if you have any information.

First look stinger first look summary: high pressure will give our area a very pleasant thanksgiving this year.

The nice conditions won't last the entire long holiday weekend, however.

Some showers are possible friday afternoon and evening with even wetter conditions expected on sunday.

Squeezed in between will be a dry day saturday that bodes well for the egg bowl in oxford.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and quiet.

Lows in the 40s.

Thanksgiving day: abundant sunshine.

Seasonable highs in the 60s.

Light and variable wind.

Some folks in west jackson spend today cleaning up after an early morning tornado.

The tornado touched down on clinton boulevard and went into a nearby neighborhood.

Several trees were knocked down, including some that fell on homes.

The path was just over half a mile.

There was no warning in place when the tornado touched down about 7:20 am.

No injuries were reported.

The national weather service says the ef-1 twister packed 90 mile per hour winds.

A community group in starkville is lending a hand to individuals and families who may be having a hard time as the holidays began.

"starkville strong" hosted a drive-thru thanksgiving lunch today at the j.l.

King center.

Group members prepared 300 meals to distribute on a first-come, first- serve basis.

Volunteers delivered the meals to individuals and families as they drove up for more than an hour.

They say this is just one way to help people who might be struggling.

Hunger and poverty here in starkville have been an issue before the pandemic started, but now more than ever it's been spotlighted and highlighted.

So, it's very important to capitalize on the momentum of people wanting to give back and wanting to help because people can relate to the need right now.

More people are experiencing the need, so it's important to to this so we can bring everybody together because we're better together when we give back in every way that we can.

"starkville strong" began as an effort to support small businesses and restaurants during the beginning of covid- 19 pandemic.

The group has expanded its mission to provide support and meet the needs of people in the community.

Off top even the most experienced columbus drivers are learning something new this week... how to navigate a roundabout.

The military road roundabout was opened this morning.

Construction crews had shut the intersection down to work on the project.

Drivers will be able to use the highway 82 on-ramp and exits, even though there is more work to be done.

No word on exactly the construction will be complete.

Work continues on the main street roundabout in columbus.

Stinger-stinger wcbi continuing coverage stinger as expected, covid- 19 numbers in mississippi increase today.

The mississippi state department of health is reporting one thousand 92 cases and 16 deaths.

Hospitalizations are also on the rise.

One thousand 41 people are in the hospital with confirmed or suspected coronavirus symptoms. 224 of those patients are in i.c.u.

The latest numbers from the health department and och regional medical center's websites show no i.c.u.

Beds in the golden triangle.

Lee county is reporting the most new cases today with 34.

Union has 30, winston has 25, chickasaw has 17, and oktibbeha has 16.

In west alabama, lamar county has 17 new cases and pickens has 18.

Stinger coming up next, see how a trail blazing woman in politics is being honored.

Vo a long-time public servant is being remembered for her trailblazing career and love for others.

Sadie holland might be best known for serving 16 years as a lee county justice court judge.

However, she had a lot of first-time milestones in her career.

In addition to being the first female justice court judge in the county, she was also the first woman to woman to be elected mayor of nettleton in 1979.

She and her husband, jc, were the first mississippians named outstanding farmers of america in 1966.

Holland also ran a funeral home with her son, former state representative steve holland.

The 87-year-old is also remembered for raising her six sons and her love for her family and friends.

Sot "just a long career in public service and she did it with grace but also with toughness and as somebody that the public trusted.

You know she was the first, for instance, female school bus driver for a public school in the state of mississippi.

There wasn't much she wasn't willing to take on, and i think that is going to be here legacy."

Holland also served as clerk of the tupelo to be here legacy."

Holland also served as clerk of the tupelo municipal court, at one time.

She died yesterday after a heart procedure.

Visitation will be friday from 3 to 7pm at holland funeral directors.

There will be a time of reflections at 6:30 in the funeral home chapel.

A service will be held saturday morning at 10:30 at sanctuary at the sadie j.

Off top mississippians have been trying to hit the jackpot for a year.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the mississippi lottery.

In 2018, state lawmakers authorized the lottery to help generate money for the state's roads and bridges.

Since it started a year ago, the lottery has transferred around 104-million dollars in net proceeds.

And the mississippi lottery corporation is giving back to the state.

The mlc announced today it will contribute 10-thousand each year to the state's five historically black colleges and universities.

Each hbcu school will get 2- thousand dollar per year to fund scholarships.oppo rtunities.

Stinger weather open summary: high pressure will give our area a very pleasant thanksgiving this year.

The nice conditions won't last the entire long holiday weekend, however.

Some showers are possible friday afternoon and evening with even wetter conditions expected on sunday.

Squeezed in between will be a dry day saturday that bodes well for the egg bowl in oxford.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and quiet.

Lows in the 40s.

Thanksgiving day: abundant sunshine.

Seasonable highs in the 60s.

Light and variable wind.

Thursday night: partly cloudy and quiet.

Lows in the 40s.

Friday: increasing clouds with a chance of afternoon and evening showers.

Some high school football games could be impacted.

Highs in the upper 60s.

Saturday: clouds and sun.

Highs ranging from the upper 50s to lower 60s.

Sunday: areas of rain and thunder.

The chance of rain is 90%.

Highs in the upper 50s to around 60.

Next week: much colder air is expected to build.

Look for highs in the 40s and 50s with lows in the 30s and 20s.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app stinger summary: high pressure will give our area a very pleasant thanksgiving this year.

The nice conditions won't last the entire long holiday weekend, however.

Some showers are possible friday afternoon and evening with even wetter conditions expected on sunday.

Squeezed in between will be a dry day saturday that bodes well for the egg bowl in oxford.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and quiet.

Lows in the 40s.

Thanksgiving day: abundant sunshine.

Seasonable highs in the 60s.

Light and variable wind.

Thursday night: partly cloudy and quiet.

Lows in the 40s.

Friday: increasing clouds with a chance of afternoon and evening showers.

Some high school football games could be impacted.

Highs in the upper 60s.

Saturday: clouds and sun.

Highs ranging from the upper 50s to lower 60s.

Sunday: areas of rain and thunder.

The chance of rain is 90%.

Highs in the upper 50s to around 60.

Next week: much colder air is expected to build.

Look for highs in the 40s and 50s with lows in the 30s and 20s.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news we're only 3 days away from the 2020 egg bowl.

A game that has a lot to live up to after last season's.

Ole miss enters the game coming off a bye week due to the texas a&m game being postponed.

Mississippi state on the other hand played georgia tough on the road losing by 7 points with less than 50 scholarship players available.

Regardless of how many players msu brings to oxford saturday, lane kiffin knows his guys have to be ready.

"still only need so many to play.

Even if your numbers are down and you're not out significant players, it's not that big of deal.

Maybe that's why he said the guys are out already.

Just to lay low in the weeds and make us feel good.

You got to be careful with that.

Whenever you think you're supposed to win, a lot of times you play down."

College basketball is back!!

Msu men's hoops starts the season tonight withght with a tough non- conference matchup against the clemson tigers!

The new look bulldogs set out to replace the team's top 4 leading scorers from last season and will have their hands full doing so tonight.

This is a clemson squad that defeated acc champs florida state and powerhouse duke last season....making for a great test in the season opener.

"they're very good.

Really well- coached.

Experienced.

Coming off a really good run to end their season in the last third of their season.

We definitely have our hands full with clemson which we knew.

They're good.

It will be an incredible challenge especially for a number of these kids that are playing for the first time in high major basketball."

Tip off against tip off against clemson is set for 7:30 tonight!

You can find the game on cbs sports network.

A former ole miss basketball star is doing like lebron james once did by.....taking his talents to south beach!

Two time sec 1st team guard breein tyree signing with the miami heat was announced by the organization earlier today.

The rebels sixth leading all time scorer joins former teammate terence davis in the nba.

Don't be surprised if tyree works his way into getting some play time for the reigning eastern conference champs.

With the season on the line, big time players make big time plays......and that was evident friday night with our player of the week.

Oxford junior running back omar howell toted the rock 28 times rushing for 176 yards and scoring a 23 yard touchdown dragging tacklers into the endzone helping oxford defeat hernando advancing to north state.

Howell credits his team for making his big night possible.

"the offensive lines and the tight ends played a big role in picking up the blocks and i was just running through them.

They just kept trusting me and i just kept going.

Somebody had to make a play to get the momentum going and i saw an opening and took advantage of it.

They trust in me and i trust in them so that trust just makes our team better.

It makes us a unit."

Howell and the chargersl look to howell and the chargersl look to return back to the state title game with a win over clinton friday night.

When we return...chief meteorologist keith gibson will have a last look at your forecast.

You are watching wcbi news at six.

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