A man has been charged with desecration of a corpse after dumping a body in a car park in broad daylight in Laurel, Mississippi.
The incident took place at Vic’s Restaurant in Laurel, Mississippi on Thursday 20th April 2023. when police were called at around 5:30pm where they discovered the body of 45-year-old Dennis Ray Walker.
Dennis’s body was believed to have been dead for quite some time and police have revealed the cause of death was an overdose.
Laurel Police Department (LPD) said they were able to obtain a video that showed an individual in a white van pushing the body out into the parking lot.
LPD Captain of Investigations Michael Reaves said that Laurel police arrested 70-year-old Reginald Arrington of Ellisville in connection to the crime and charged him with desecration of a corpse.
According to Reaves, “We’ve seen a heightened amount of overdose deaths. A lot of our heroin that we’re seeing today is laced with fentanyl, and, obviously, when that happens, the risk of overdose death increases, and we do have Good Samaritan laws in place that allow those people that if there is an overdose to call us without having fear of being charged with a crime.”
The Good Samaritan law in Mississippi provides immunity from arrest, charge, or prosecution to any person who seeks medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug overdose.
The purpose of the law is to encourage individuals to seek help in the event of an overdose without fear of legal repercussions.
