Bailey: Grand jury proceedings are to be kept secret, and DeSoto County folks are making sure
A DeSoto County grand jury was empaneled where Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle and Chief Deputy Justin Smith appeared. Why? No one is talking. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)
Clay Bailey
Clay Bailey, a lifelong Memphian, has worked as a reporter in the city four decades. He concentrated on suburban coverage for the bulk of his career, except for a stint as sports editor of The Daily Memphian when it launched in September 2018. He now is suburban editor and also serves as a freelance sports writer for The Associated Press.
There seems to be some wild doings down in DeSoto County.
And we aren’t even sure of the exact details of what is going on.
As Rob Moore, our North Mississippi reporter, noted Thursday, a county grand jury was empaneled. And Sheriff Thomas E. Tuggle and Chief Deputy Justin Smith stopped by (or were beckoned) to appear for the proceedings.
Those appearances appeared suspicious, right? I mean the county’s two top law enforcement folks, along with other high-ranking folks showing up for a grand jury?
Making the whole thing even more mysterious was that after the session no one wanted to talk about what went on in the grand jury room.
Not Tuggle.
Not Smith.
Not anyone else who went into the grand jury room.
Not District Attorney Matthew Barton.
That’s not unusual for grand juries. There’s this whole secretive side of what is done in there. I get that. The prosecution doesn’t want to play its hand until they have an indictment against someone. So, no one is telling us what Thursday’s grand jury was talking about. Or investigating. Or gathering thread in case an indictment is forthcoming.
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Matthew Barton DeSoto County Grand Jury escapee DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle Subscriber Only2025 is almost over. Now is the time to support your trusted local news source.
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