Ripley is a GREAT place to live. Great blended community, great schools, teachers and churches. I have never ever felt unsafe here. Isolated incidents can happen anywhere. This incident is just a product of any small town that has lost its bread and butter(factories) and allowed drug distribution to go unchecked by law enforcement! If we were as tough on drug dealers and users as we were on the everyday citizen on his/her way to work with a broken signal light, I just feel the whole would be a better place!!!

This was the first and so far only murder of the year (and in almost 2years, and only one other prior to that in 2 years). Ideally you would prefer to live where no one was ever murdered, no home was ever broken into and every person, child or elderly person was safe to roam freely. Government corruption is nothing new.

So, this is still America and everyone is presumed innocent UNTIL proven guilty. Being from the small town of Ripley yes, "WE" all had heard rumors and many names have been mentioned. But let us allow the process of justice to run its course. Circumstances could change and in the court of public opinion we have already convicted the man. Let us proceed with caution. Keep both families (who are related to each other also), in our prayers. Justice will be served.

Seems to me that this is a case of Karma kicking Lonnie's tail. He used his hands to murder someone, then he tried to use his hands to kill himself...Karma let him live, but took his hands away from him. Pretty ironic.

Prag Ripley actually isn't a very "bad" kinda town. At least not in the sense that Okolona or Aberdeen are with the crime rates go. It just seems that lots of very strange "big" crimes happen there for such a small town.

Another candidate for Tupelo Police Dept leadership ?

And this follows the the case where 3 off duty Ripley Police officers were reprimanded (with one resigning) for propositioning 2 underage girls at the park in Ripley. According to the Memphis news story on that one the officers offerred the girls booze and drugs for "favors" if you catch my drift. Hell, Ripley has always been a little rough around the edges, but these two stories take it to a whole new depth. If my son had to play football this season in Ripley as a visiting team I would probably invest in a good Kevlar vest. Them northern folks are crazy.

Looks like the stink may go deeper then. If he grabbed the power lines to committ suicide then I fail to see how Tippah Power can rule it an accident. Unless of course those in charge of Tippah Power wanted the man to be able to get his disability payments. That may be an investigative story for the DJ. Those disability payments will be paid for by the Tippah County utility users.

Will he be let out of jail to attend the board of alderman meetings?

Good point on missing info. Thanks for comments. It is on the link with the full story at Tippah360.com. We've added here to help with any confusion.

Thanks for the clarification. Seems like that would have been in the article somewhere. I was wondering if he had a hair trigger and used his tongue; or how he held the gun w/ one foot and pulled the trigger with the other, and if either of those was the case, how did the other guy not get away. You've put my mind at ease. Thanks again!

dont worry itsamess, i did too

Yep, in this case, it really WAS the one (1/2 1/2 = 1 right?) armed man!

When I first saw this picture I thought he was in handcuffs. After reading the comments about him losing his arms in an accident (although this is not funny) I thought to myself....How did they handcuff him? Just Saying!!!

interesting info talonted. i didnt even notice his hands were gone.

Why did Lonnie kill Ant? I am not from Ripley, and don't know these people, but I am interested now...

olemrrebel - Lonnie had hands at the time of the incident. Just a few days after he killed Ant, Lonnie tried to commit suicide by grabbing two live wires (he'd worked for the power company for a long time) and the genius lived through it but lost both arms below the elbows. This was MONTHS ago that all this happened. Everyone in town (Ripley) knew who did it, surprised it's just now coming out.

How can he shoot him w/ no hands?

@LarryDickman, one black man shot another black man. Is that racism?