Willis receives 15 years after plea deal

Willis receives 15 years after plea deal

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A Philadelphia doctor pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and six counts of simple assault on a police officer in a standoff last year during circuit court last week.

The physician, Jeffrey Todd Willis, 61, 13850 Road 602, Carthage (in Neshoba County), was sentenced last Monday and received a sentence of 25 years with 10 suspended leaving 15 years to serve, according to District Attorney Steven Kilgore.

“In this district you are not allowed to shoot at police officers,” Kilgore said. “Whether you are a drug dealer or a doctor you will be held accountable.”

Willis has been transferred to the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility to begin serving his sentence.

The charges stem from an incident on Jan. 9, 2021. 

“While on scene a standoff ensued between law enforcement and the armed assailant,” Sheriff Eric Clark said in a Facebook post that Saturday night the incident occurred. 

Leake County deputies were called in to assist in the standoff that lasted for some time before the shots were fired and Willis was taken to a Meridian hospital where he survived after surgery for bullet wounds to the chest.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation took charge of the investigation.

Road 602, commonly known as the River Road, runs parallel to the Pearl River in northwestern Neshoba County connecting Mississippi 19 north and Mississippi 427 just above Edinburg. 

Willis turned himself in the afternoon of March 9, 2021, on nine charges related to the January standoff.

Willis was family physician at Neshoba General with no apparent criminal record at the time of the incident. 

Willis was known to be a gun enthusiast and had photos of weapons on his personal Facebook page.

Willis first came to Philadelphia in 1994 as a general practitioner.






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