Man arrested after armed standoff, shooting at police drone
Published 2:00 pm Saturday, August 10, 2019
A southeast Mississippi man has been arrested after an armed standoff and manhunt.
Wayne County Sheriff Jody Ashley tells WDAM-TV that Jon Wiley Welford was arrested Friday without injury. Welford was jailed, although Ashley didn’t immediately announce charges and it was unclear if Welford had a lawyer.
Ashley says Welford engaged in an armed standoff with several law enforcement agencies Thursday before escaping into the woods that evening, setting off a manhunt that lasted until Friday afternoon.
Officials say Welford fired an assault rifle at a Jones County sheriff’s drone operating in the area during the standoff, and threatened to kill any law enforcement officers he encountered. More than 100 officers were searching for Welford at one point Friday, and some neighbors were evacuated.