The trial of a former Leflore County supervisor on a simple assault charge has been delayed until Sept. 19.
Larry "Kite" Johnson has been accused of striking 16-year-old Lorenzo Prayer in the face with a flashlight while trying to break up a fight last month at Spotlite Skating Rink. He has denied the charge, saying he just tried to separate the teenagers who were fighting.
Johnson co-owns the facility and is also the executive director of the Greenwood Community and Recreation Center.
A Justice Court trial was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Judge Jim Campbell originally dismissed the charge after no one representing Prayer appeared.
Prayer's mother, Janie Prayer, said she had called the Justice Court office Tuesday morning because she hadn't seen Johnson's name in the Commonwealth arrest reports. She asked a clerk in the office when the trial would be and was told that it would be continued Sept. 19 if there had been no arrest.
The arrest had not appeared in the reports because Johnson did not turn himself in at the Leflore County Sheriff's Department until Monday. He was released on his own recognizance.
Following the dismissal on Tuesday, Johnson said he was glad about the outcome but somewhat disappointed that he didn't get to tell his side.
Johnson said his security guards' flashlights are about 15 inches long and weigh two to three pounds, comparable to the ones law-enforcement officers use. He said that if he had struck anyone in the face with one of those flashlights, the person would have been "wrapped up like a mummy."
Johnson has run the skating rink for six years and the recreation center for 11 years. He said this is the first time in that period that he has been brought into court on this kind of charge.
Janie Prayer said she was determined to get back to court.
"I'll go to my grave before I'll let this go," she said.
