Suspect arrested after stabbing

A Sunday afternoon stabbing sent the victim to the Regional One Health Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., in critical condition, according to sheriff Kenny Dickerson.

A suspect is in custody and charged with attempted murder, he said.

First responders and the sheriff were called to 100 block of Cross Creek Cove near the Watson community Sunday to the scene of the stabbing.

Medical personnel responded to the location to find 56-year-old Ricky Harris in critical condition with stab wounds about the head and neck area and to the abdomen, the sheriff said.

The incident occurred at Harris’s residence. Medical assistance was rendered by local medical personnel until Harris could be airlifted to Memphis, Dickerson said.

The suspect, Vonnco Dontrell Rayford, 35, of the 1500 block of Mt. Sinai Road in Byhalia, fled the scene in a maroon 2008 Chevrolet registered in his name and was pursued by Marshall County deputies.

Soon afterward, Rayford was arrested without incident and booked at the Marshall County jail Sunday, Dec. 12, at 2:45 p.m., Dickerson said.

He appeared in justice court Monday to face a charge of attempted murder, a charge that will be upgraded should Harris die of his wounds, the sheriff said.

The investigation, led by Dickerson and investigator Jason Mills, is ongoing.

“As of now, we are still unable to determine what instigated the stabbing,” Dickerson said.

The sheriff and his officers continue to investigate and collect facts related to the incident, he said.

Dickerson urges anyone who has any information regarding this incident to call the sheriff’s office at 662-252-1311 and ask to speak to any investigator or himself. All callers will remain anonymous and the information provided will be kept in strict confidence.