Foul play

Hood County Precinct 2 Constable John D. Shirley became aware recently that a woman wanted in Hood County for traffic warrants was returning the warrant notices with foul language and disrespectful drawings.

Shirley, however, determined that the woman was in prison and wasn’t the person sending the disrespectful mail to Hood County employees.

Shirley said the “dastardly doodler” was never determined but through investigation discovered that a former boyfriend of the woman in prison had a warrant from New Orleans for sexual assault of a family member.

The sexual assault suspect was Jerry Eugene Mitchell, 39.

Shirley determined that Mitchell was possibly living in Fairfax County, Virginia, and through a social media investigation located a possible match for Mitchell advertising as a handyman in that area.

Shirley engaged Mitchell in a texting conversation, posing as a potential customer, and was able to get Mitchell to divulge information about himself that confirmed his identity and location.

The constable then contacted the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department and notified them about the felony fugitive in their area. They arrested Mitchell and placed him in their jail for extradition to Louisiana.

“This investigation is a good example of how law enforcement agencies in totally different jurisdictions and states can effectively work together and make our communities safer,” Shirley said. “It’s also an example of how someone disrespecting hard-working county employees can get someone’s former boyfriend from Hood County arrested in Virginia on a warrant from Louisiana.”

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