Yazoo Co. officials commend athlete who disarmed student
09-Sep-2009 YAZOO CITY — Kaleb Eulls, the high school football star who disarmed a gun-wielding student last week, was rewarded Tuesday with a resolution from county supervisors and a $700 check from an unnamed admirer in Hawaii.Yazoo County Sheriff Tommy Vaughan, who was at the ceremony, said afterward he has completed his investigation and hopes the 14-year-old student arrested in the incident will be tried as an adult.
Because the crime was committed with a gun and the girl is older than 13, she meets the criteria to be charged as an adult.
Eulls, 18, was one of more than 20 Yazoo County students riding a school bus on Sept. 1 when the girl pulled a .380 semi-automatic handgun from her bag and allegedly threatened to shoot them.
Eulls tried to calm the girl then tackled her and wrested the gun from her hand.
She is charged with 22 counts of attempted aggravated assault, 22 counts of kidnapping and one count of possession of a firearm on school property. She is being held in the county juvenile detention facility.
Vaughan said he's waiting to see if Yazoo County Court Judge Derek Parker will certify the girl to stand trial as an adult.
"We've got our case ready to go," said Vaughan, adding that investigators have questioned several people, including students on the bus and driver Lucille Boddy, who also has been praised for her conduct during the incident.
The 14-year-old unidentified girl cannot be interviewed by investigators at this point.
James Powell, district attorney, said Tuesday he has not received a report from Vaughan yet.
"At this point, I don't know what we're going to do with it," Powell said. "I need to get a complete file and reports from the Sheriff's Department and whatever they find in Youth Court."
Those circumstances include the findings of a pending mental evaluation of the girl.
John Reeves, the girl's attorney, said he didn't know yet when that evaluation will occur.
He also said that, depending on what the court and district attorney decide, he would have to file a motion to transfer the case to Youth Court.
Even though his client is a minor, "certain offenses, including this one, would automatically go to Circuit Court," he said.
Asked if had filed the motion to transfer the case to Youth Court, Reeves said that would be "premature because we're still in the preliminary stage."
Reeves repeated claims from the girl's family that his client had been bullied and picked on by other students before she carried the gun onto the bus.
"They also said that a boy had spread a rumor that he had sex with her, and that's a lie," Reeves said. "But her mother believes that doesn't justify taking a gun on a school bus. Nothing does.
"Her mother's focus is to get help for the young lady, restore her to society and not put her in jail."
During the ceremony at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, Vaughan praised Eulls, telling him, "I want you to remember us because we're always going to remember you."
Supervisors presented Eulls with a plaque and a resolution that recognized his "heroic actions."
Cobie Collins, District 5 supervisor and board president, said, "We hope the courage he has displayed will spill over into the lives of other kids and become an inspiration to them, as well as to adults - as an adult, I'm inspired by him."
Following the supervisors' presentation, Vaughan handed Eulls an unopened Federal Express envelope from a "woman in Honolulu who wants to remain anonymous."
Eulls opened the packet to reveal a $700 check and a note from the woman, who wrote that she had read about Eulls in a newspaper article and had heard about him on TV.
"Thank you for your bravery. Aloha," the note said.
"This morning was amazing," Eulls said.
Because of what he did on Sept. 1, he said, "blessings are going to come to us. ...
"It's a little more than I expected."
Eulls' mother, Ora Eulls, said, "I'm real proud of him. ... Thank God he's standing here today."
Vaughan said other rewards and gifts of gratitude are headed the Eulls' way. One hitch: If Eulls accepts gifts from alumni or boosters of collegiate athletic programs, he could jeopardize his college eligibility, said Brackey Brett, Mississippi State University's associate athletic director for compliance.
A 6-foot 4-inch, 255-pound senior, Eulls plays defensive end and quarterback for Yazoo County and in July was named to The Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen, a preseason list of the state's top 12 players.
Although many colleges are recruiting him, Eulls has told the coaches at Mississippi State he plans to sign scholarship papers with the Bulldogs in February.
"It's a violation of NCAA rules for a supporter to provide any gift to prospects," Brett said. "Officials at the school (Yazoo County High) are being proactive about the situation, and we've had conversations with them. They don't want anyone to do anything to jeopardize the young man's eligibility."
Brett said boosters of any program can honor Eulls by making a donation to charity or to his school's general fund or library fund, but he said direct gift's to the athletic department, football team or Eulls are not allowed.
Gary Pettus• Clarion Ledger Staff Writers • September 9, 2009