A woman filed charges against two Pike County sheriff’s deputies Tuesday, alleging they assaulted her 15-year-old son at the recent Pike County Fair.
Toshiba Lewis filed the simple assault charges in Pike County Justice Court against deputies Smithie Buie and Bena Williams.
Lewis contacted the Enterprise-Journal last week and furnished copies of statements from several witness who were at the fair with her son, Jaquarius “Scooter” Lewis, on the night of Sept. 6.
According to the boy’s statement, he was leaving the fair with his family when several deputies passed them multiple times before he heard someone yell, “Get on the ground.”
He stated that as he turned around, one of the deputies grabbed him and slammed him down onto his back, busted his lip with a pair of handcuffs and detained both him and his godmother, Dionne Burton.
After searching him for a weapon, the deputies let both of them go, he said.
County Prosecutor David Brewer said he plans to present the charges at a probable cause hearing.
“I’m going to file it, investigate it and present it and see what the court says,” he said.
Under state law, both teachers and law enforcement officers are entitled to a probable cause hearing before they can be arrested on charges.
Brewer said other witnesses have come forward, giving different accounts of what occurred, but he would not elaborate on what they said.
