Pair arrested for Fair burglaries
Two suspects caught on camera breaking into cars at the Neshoba County Fairgrounds have been arrested and charged.
Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said both Jimmie Aaron Smith and Jacob Scott Ladd remain in custody.
Smith, 21, 10270 Highway 16 West, was arrested and charged with six counts of burglary of a vehicle and two counts of petit larceny.
Ladd, 18, 8170 Highway 495 South, DeKalb, was arrested and charged with six counts of burglary of a vehicle and two counts of petit larceny.
Clark said Ladd’s girlfriend, Aubrie Skinner, 19, 15760 Highway 503, Decatur, was arrested and charged with hindering prosecution.
According to Neshoba County Jail records, she was released on a $10,000 bond on July 17, about 24 hours after she was brought into custody. Both Smith and Ladd remain in jail.
According to Clark, the investigation began on Tuesday, July 16, when the owner of Cabin 281 called the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office at about 7 a.m. to report his vehicle had been broken into overnight. Only loose change was reported missing, but Clark said the vehicle was thoroughly rummaged through.
As further calls and reports came in, Clark said his office identified six vehicles that had been broken into in the early morning hours of July 16 or the late night hours of July 15.
In addition to the Chevy truck at Cabin 281, Clark said another Chevy truck had been broken into at Cabin 630A, and an heirloom Remington shotgun had been stolen.
In the camper section of the Fairgrounds, two more trucks and a Jeep were broken into. Though nothing has been reported stolen from the vehicles at this time, a number of beers were taken from a nearby cooler, Clark said.
Another camper owner shared surveillance video with the NCSO of Ladd and Smith holding the stolen beers, peering into a Honda Accord, and attempting to get in before giving up and moving on. The video was taken around 2:30 a.m. on July 16.
Clark said Cabin 202 also reported a barrel fan was stolen.
Thanks to a social media post from law enforcement circulated that day, Clark said they received a Crime Stoppers tip identifying Ladd and Smith and giving their location.
Smith was arrested at 4:30 p.m. just over the Leake County Line on Highway 16 West at a house on stilts near Edinburgh. Clark said Leake County deputies soon arrested Ladd and Skinner at a house on Highway 488 near the Madden Country Store.
During the course of the investigation law enforcement recovered both the shotgun and barrell fan which have been returned to their rightful owners.
Clark said Ladd is also wanted by authorities in Lauderdale County for an unrelated incident. Ladd was indicted in November 2023 for shooting into a dwelling there.