On Sunday, Jan. 18, the Picayune Police Department was notified by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department that their officers were speaking with a man wanted by Picayune’s authorities for driving under the influence and causing the death of another.
Saturday, the Item reported that the Picayune Police Department was attempting to locate 51-year-old Walter Dewayne Sanford of 12 Sanford and Son Road.
Sanford was wanted in connection with a fatal accident, which occurred on Nov. 20, 2014. Fifty-year-old Teresa Spiers was killed in the two-car accident on I-59 near the south Picayune exit. She was the passenger of a vehicle driven by Sanford.
In the previous story, Picayune Police Department Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri said that on Jan. 6, the department received the results of Sanford’s blood, drawn at the time of the accident, from the crime lab.
“The results showed that at the time of the accident, Sanford’s blood alcohol level was .231,” Magri said, “which is almost three times the legal limit of .08 in the state of Mississippi.”
At that time, Magri said, a warrant was issued for Sanford’s arrest for driving under the influence and causing the death of another.
On Jan. 18 at approximately 3:39 p.m., officers with the Picayune Police Department were dispatched to the scene where Sanford was taken into custody for the warrant, Magri said.
Sanford is being held at the Criminal Justice Center on a $50,000 bond, Magri said.
Chief Bryan Dawsey would to thank the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in locating Sanford.