Felon fleeing law hits house, lunges boy

The 13-year-old boy seriously injured a week ago after a wanted felon fleeing law enforcement crashed an SUV through his bedroom lunging him into the backyard is out of ICU and “in much better spirits,” his family said Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the authorities say the fleeing man was wanted for failure to appear in New Mexico and allegedly fled the Beacon Street traffic stop last Wednesday night where it all began after hearing that news over the police radio.

The suspect, Jeremy Howard Henry, 29, 10531 Road 460, fled the scene of the crash and hid in the woods for about an hour before he was arrested at about 10 p.m. on several charges, including felony pursuit and is suspected to have been under the influence, said Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark.

According to jail records, Henry has been charged with felony pursuit, leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries, possession of a fire arm by a convicted felon, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, improper equipment, reckless driving, no proof of insurance, disorderly conduct and a seatbelt violation.

Clark said that Henry is wanted out of Gallup, New Mexico, for failure to appear for an arraignment.

Clark said his office is currently satisfied with the array of charges brought against Henry and they have submitted a blood sample to the state Crime Lab for analysis that could lead to subsequent or upgraded charge if Henry is found to have been impaired at the time.

Henry, who has an extensive criminal record, has given an Ocobla address in the past. He was one of the men connected to a 2020 incident where a rifle was stolen from an MBI agent’s vehicle during a revival at The First Baptist Church and 11 guns were eventually seized.

The injured boy, Cullen McCoy, was moved from ICU into a regular room on Monday. “He looked at his stapled incision and can’t wait to show his friends his cool scar,” his mother, Dakota Smith Flora, wrote on Facebook

On Saturday, McCoy was out of surgery, off a ventilator and talking to his mother.  "The first thing he said to me was 'momma I love you I’m so happy to be alive. When can I talk to all my friends?' Praise God. We have been given lil reminders throughout the last few days," his mother wrote.

Police Chief Eric Lyons said that his department has not brought charges against Henry but that charges in his jurisdiction are possible.

The incident started as a traffic stop made by a Sheriff’s deputy on west Beacon Street near the Holland Avenue intersection around 8:35 p.m. on Feb. 2, Clark said.

The deputy made contact with the driver, who was identified as Henry, and suspected that he was impaired. He then asked Henry to step out of the car.

Henry then sped off from the traffic stop and the deputy pursued the vehicle down Poplar Avenue where the fleeing driver crashed into the residence on Line Street where Poplar ends.

Clark said they now believe Henry sped away when he heard the warrant from New Mexico mentioned over the police radio.

Clark said that his deputy briefly lost Henry but soon found his vehicle almost all the way through the house on Line Street.

Clark said that at the house the deputy discovered that Henry had fled and that there was a victim, a 13-year-old male.

“He determined there was a victim and stayed to render aid,” Clark said.

Lyons said that his department was called to the scene around 8:45 p.m.

“Philadelphia Police arrived on scene and assisted with the incident and search of the driver who was apprehended a short time later,” Lyons said.

Clark said the ensuing manhunt to locate Henry ended around 9:45 p.m. when officers located the suspect in the woods behind Trinity Baptist Church.

“We set up a manhunt that lasted quite a while,” Clark said. “Probably an hour or better.”

During their search, Clark said that authorities located a backpack containing “a significant amount of marijuana” as well as Henry’s personal information including papers related to the vehicle he was driving.

Clark said that the victim was transported to Neshoba General and stabilized. The boy was transported to University Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson by ground ambulance because inclement weather prevented an airlift.

Clark said that Henry was out on bond for a felony.

Henry has a long history with the law. In November of 2020, Henry was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property, possession of marijuana in a vehicle and possession of paraphernalia.

The charges stemmed from an investigation into a rifle stolen from the MBI agent’s vehicle parked at First Baptist. The investigation led them to Henry who was in possession of 11 stolen firearms including the MBI rifle.

Nicholas Lamar Catchings was ultimately charged with stealing the weapon.

Most recently in November of 2021, Henry was arrested and charged with domestic violence, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia after deputies responded to a domestic dispute call. All are misdemeanor charges.

At the time authorities determined that the amount of weed was just below a felony.

The boy’s great-aunt, Megan McCoy, has started a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses. As of Tuesday afternoon about $29,395 of a $40,000 goal had been raised from 352 donors.

She wrote: “My wonderful, great-nephew Cullen McCoy, 13 years old, was the victim of a tragic accident last night while doing his homework sitting at his desk. 

“The police were chasing a suspect who was driving at least 80 miles an hour down the street directly in front of his house and the car ran into the house and out the back of it. 

“Cullen was thrown into the backyard. He had multiple internal injuries. He was rushed to the Children’s hospital in Jackson where he had a life-saving 5-hour surgery. He has months of recovery ahead of him. There is no health insurance. The man who hit the house has no insurance.”

Separately, Sarah Lee, an admin with the Mississippi Gamers’ Society on Facebook, said that the group decided to start a GoFundMe to raise funds to build a gaming PC for McCoy since his room was destroyed. 

As of Tuesday they had raised $405 of a $1,200 goal from nine donors.